At Time's Mercy
by Little Ithil
Summary: Evelyn Montgomery had a perfectly happy life in 2017. But time had different plans. One moment she's looking for her dad in the Department of Mysteries, the next she's in 1977, facing a pair of grey eyes that might just belong to Sirius Black. SB/OC JP/LE
1. Prologue

I do not know why I ended up where I did. If there is a reason, it is lost to me. Time takes and so I guess it also has to give. Isn't that the natural law or something?

I do know the why of how I ended up where I did. It all has to do with my family. My father was (is?) an Unspeakable. Yes, they are permitted families. They just can't say anything. Ours isn't even a nice, small, discreet family. I am one of six. Actually I'm youngest of six girlsIt would have been tough on any dad, living with six squealing, curious, bright girls. Tougher still on a dad who was used to quiet and could never actually answer all of our questions. I can't imagine what it must have been like for him, having to deal with the looks on our faces when he turned away, silent, from all our open faces. Now that I am living with so many secrets of my own, I wish I could tell him I am sorry I didn't at least try to understand.

And I can't even do that. But all that regret comes later.

We were a happy family, even with all the secrecy. At least that's all I remember My oldest sisters, Lucy and Julie, remember the war. My parents weren't that involved, but everyone knew someone who was dead or missing. My mum's old friend was killed by Death Eater's in a random raid. And everyone was afraid. Lucy was nine and Julie was seven. Margaret was only four then and the rest of us weren't around yet. But Julie told me stories about hiding in the basement and shutting off all the lights. She said that Dad stopped going to work and that Mum had to charm him sick when people came to find him.

Lucy even remembers how scared Mum and Dad were when Mum got pregnant with the twins. They said they didn't want to bring any more kids into this kind of world. But then there was that last battle and Harry Potter saved the day. Voldemort was gone and people were happy. That's what they say at least. I was born two years after it all so I never really knew, except for what people told me.

All I knew was that the wizarding world was fun and bright and pleasant. I went to Hogwarts like every other young British wizard and it was brilliant. Everyone knew the family after so many of us. We were an odd bunch because we didn't stick to one house. Lucy was in Ravenclaw and so were Audrey and Isabel, but Margaret was a Slytherin. Julie and I were both Gryffindors.

Margaret was a prefect my first year and she lorded it over Audrey, Is, and me. But then she graduated and Audrey and Is pretty much ignored me, which was fine. I was on the Quidditch team (a Beater) and so I had some friends from that. I liked school. Everything was going nicely. I wanted to become a Healer and I had all the credentials for it too.

But the summer before my seventh year everything got screwed up. I needed to get new robes and such for school but I didn't want to go with my mum. So Julie went with me. She might be nine years older than me but she's always been my favorite sister. Maybe it's because we shared houses. I don't know. Julie's the best, whatever it is. Lucy and Margaret are both married (Lucy's got three kids, all girls, and Maggie's got a boy and a little baby girl) but Julie is still on her own. She's 26 and still knows how to have fun.

We were headed to Diagon Alley but Mum asked us to drop by and ask after Dad, to see if he'd be home for supper. You don't really pop in to see an Unspeakable, but you can have them messaged and wait out front of the department. So we apparated to the Ministry (I got my license on the first try) and had some lady at the desk message Dad. She told us to wait in the Atrium but we've been coming to the Ministry since we were little so we just got on a lift.

I remember Julie pointed out that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley (he's another famous wizarding bloke, I think cause of the war too, but I only know his name from the joke store) were in the same car and we giggled cause even though Harry's kind of old and married with kids he's still handsome. But they got off and it was just us until we got to the right floor.

We'd been standing waiting for maybe ten minutes when Jules dared me to go in the door and find out what was behind it. I never turn down a dare so I went in. I wonder what she and Dad thought when I never came back out.


	2. Where Time Stops

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, just the original characters and the plot. No copyright infringement is intended.

Evelyn Montgomery opened a door. She opened a door and fell. There was no other way to explain it. It was like in Alice in Wonderland: falling, stopping, spinning, flipping, but always falling. She could not tell where she was, though it was neither too dark nor too bright. There was just nothing. A strange blank landscape with neither an up nor a down.

She couldn't help cursing. She should have known better than to take a dare to go into the Department of Mysteries. Magic could be scary sometimes even if you knew what it was. And this- well there was a reason it was the department of _mysteries_. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And now she was spinning in nothing. Maybe her dad could get her out but the chances of that were slim. Chances were that she would just be stuck here. Forever.

Tears began to trickle down her face. Shit. She'd never get to lead the Gryffindor's to Quidditch glory now. Silly that the first thought in her head was that but she was excited to be captain. She'd had ideas and plans and fun stuff ready. She'd never see her friends again either. Or her family. Never laugh or cry or just be plain silly again.

The tears were coming full force now, making the emptiness blur and swing in her vision. Or maybe the emptiness was disappearing. Images were whirring by and someone's voice was fading in and out.

"We don't know…she seems fine…can't tell you anything sir…so strange…hopefully she'll be alright… get out, no visitors."

And then a loud, entirely present voice: "Professor, really, a girl falls into our dormitory out of nowhere and we're just supposed to forget? Come on, we're not idiots!"

Was she at Hogwarts then? But why? And how? Evie tried to peer past the fog surrounding her and found herself slamming back into what must have been the present. She was thrown immediately into a coughing fit, but not before she realized she was on a cot in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. A soft presence came to her side and thrust a tall glass into her hand.

"Drink," a familiar voice commanded. Evie gulped the liquid down and sighed. So it was Hogwarts. She was safe then and with people who knew her. That was a relief.

She opened her eyes once more, ready to smile and ask what had happened. Instead she found herself gaping and blinking. This was not the Madame Pomfrey she knew and the woman standing behind her certainly wasn't the Professor McGonagall she knew as Headmistress.

She was still gaping when two boys popped their heads around the curtain surrounding her bed. "Did she tell you how she got in our dormitory?" the one with messy black hair asked. Professor McGonagall spun and pushed them back, tsk tsking all the way.

"It's alright dear. I suppose you've had a bit of a shock. Your safe here." Madame Pomfrey patted her on her shoulder, her eyes kind.

Evie finally managed to close both her eyes and her mouth. She tried to breathe deeply and evenly for a moment. Something was different, something was wrong. But it wasn't too wrong because she wasn't stuck in some timeless wasteland.

Something clicked then. Timeless. Time. Oh crap.

"What's the date?" she asked meekly, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Well it's Tuesday. October the eleventh."

"What year?" Evie croaked.

"1977 of course." Madame Pomfrey looked at her latest patient quizzically.

Evie's mind was reeling. "Oh, yes that's right." She laughed feebly before slipping into a dead faint.

* * *

When Evie awoke, the hospital wing was dark. It took a moment for her mind and eyes to adjust. When she remembered where and, perhaps more importantly, when she was, she had to fight to keep the scream and tears back.

1977, and so she was forty years back through time. Quickly, pushing back the hysteria, she calculated. Her parents would have been…ten. Ten. They would be entering Hogwarts themselves next year.

Evie couldn't help but let one tear escape. Her parents were currently seven years younger than their youngest daughter. Her father wasn't anywhere near being an expert on magical mysteries. She was alone.

How had she gotten here? She remembered the fall, but she had been in the Ministry, not Hogwarts. And that boy- he'd said she'd fallen into their dormitory.

Evie knew instinctually that she could not force herself back into that field of time. She would have to find it physically, like the first time, to go back to her own time.

And then a horrible thought struck her: what if she re-entered that empty place only to be spit out in another unfamiliar time? What if she were somewhere dangerous?

Still fighting the emotions warring in her, Evie went through her choices logically. She could find and re-enter time and take the risk of ending up somewhere strange. Or she could stay here, at Hogwarts, as a seventh year, and look for a different, better solution. She might be able to get a time turner, which would be more dependable. And she would be safe here, able to blend in. It wouldn't be so bad- a month, maybe two. It would be an adventure, a story to tell. Jules would get a kick out of the fact that her prank had caused so much trouble. Not so bad.

No one could know of course. She would have to think up a reason. A reason that involved her staying at the school.

Decision made, Evie began to plot.

* * *

When the sun showed its face, Madame Pomfrey ushered Professors Dumbeldore and McGonagall into the area curtained off from the rest of the room. Sitting on the bed, still under the covers, was Evie. She was sipping on a thick pewter mug of delicious carrot soup, composed and ready.

Madame Pomfrey smiled at her before exiting the make shift room. Dumbledore flicked his wand, summoning two chairs and sitting in his before greeting Evie.

"Well, dear, you do seem to be doing well now. You've caused quite a stir in the castle – us not knowing where you are from or who you are. Perhaps now that you're awake…"

Evie took one last sip before setting the mug down on the bedside table. "You want to know how on earth I got here."

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes."

"You know I'm a witch – my wand was in my pocket."

McGonagall produced an 11 ¾ inch wand. Seeing it, Evie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, that's it. Unicorn tail core." Evie inhaled deeply. "I don't quite understand how it is I got here…My name's Evelyn…Evelyn Montgomery. I go here…or I guess I will…I'm not really sure. My friend Charlie and I were fooling around with his brother's time turner…it was an accident." Evie glanced at McGonagall. "I'm in your house…Gryffindor…Madame Pomfrey, she said it was 1977 so I don't think I'm even born…"

Evie was trying to stick as close to the truth as possible without giving too much away. This was the instant where she hoped one of the professors would cut her off. She tried to look scared and forlorn.

As if on cue, Dumbledore sighed. Although she'd never met him in her old life (as she was beginning to think of it), her mother had told her all sorts of stories and they'd studied him at Hogwarts. She knew he was brilliant, eccentric, and kind. She also knew he when he would die. But Evie pushed that thought out of her head.

"Time can be very tricky. I don't suppose you've kept the time turner? No?"

Evie shook her head. "We were just toying with hours, we thought. It was barely looped around my wrists."

Dumbledore nodded. "Well then. We'll have to see what we can do about getting you back. In the meantime, you're a seventh year I presume?" Evie nodded. "You may as well continue your studies here until we can figure this out." Dumbledore turned to Professor McGonagall. "Minerva, would you please alert Poppy that Evelyn will be needing a full set of clothing? And will you take care of setting an additional bed in the dormitory?"

McGonagall nodded briskly and, handing Evie her wand, swept out of the enclosure.

Dumbledore turned back to Evie. "While you're here, you should try to keep quiet about where exactly you are from. I won't ask you what year you've come back from and you should refrain from sharing with anyone. We'll let your housemates know only that you've returned to England after living in…" Dumbledore trailed off, pondering locations.

Evie was one step ahead of him. "What about Canada? My aunt lives there so I know it a bit at least."

Dumbledore smiled. "Very well, Canada it is. As for family…" He frowned. "I'm afraid we shall have to orphan you Evelyn."

"Please, sir, it's Evie. And I don't mind. It's not like I have anyone here anyway." Again the wave of despair crept up on her and she shoved it back.

Dumbledore smiled at her kindly. "That is not entirely true dear. I am at your disposal, should you need anything. Any student of Hogwarts, no matter when from, is welcome and safe here. Now perhaps you would like to sleep a bit more? Yes? Then I shall leave you. You've had quite an ordeal after all. "

With a pat on her shoulder, Dumbledore was gone. Evie lay back on the pillows. The first hurdle was over and done with. Now she only needed to find her way back home. With that thought in mind, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	3. Moving Forward

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, just the original characters and the plot. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

The next night, Professor McGonagall showed Evie to her new dormitory. In truth, it was the same one she'd always had, just with new residents. Luckily, when they walked through the common room everyone was still at dinner. The seventh-year girls' room was large, so the additional bed fit easily. The trunk was filled with all the books Evie would need for her classes as well as several robes, uniforms, and various items of clothing. Evie thanked Professor McGonagall, who merely nodded and left, leaving Evie on her own.

Happy to be alone once more (she had spent the day helping to arrange her classes and explaining that yes, in her time she did take private healing lessons from Madame Pomfrey), Evie collapsed face first onto her bed and screamed into her pillow. Once finished, she flipped over onto her back and sighed.

"It has been a long day, hasn't it?"

Evie jumped to her feet at the sound of the pleasant female voice.

The girl, a redhead head with shining green eyes, laughed. "Sorry to startle you! You must be Evelyn Montgomery."

Evie must have looked confused, because the girl continued: "I'm Lily Evans, Head Girl. McGonagall asked if I would help you get settled, that sort of thing."

Evie shook herself out of the mild shock that still held her in its grips. "Oh, well, that's good then, isn't it? Sorry about the screaming and everything…I just…"

Lily nodded. "This might be a bit forward, but you should know McGonagall told me about losing your family so suddenly. I'd be screaming if I were you, not to mention crying and tearing my hair out."

"I was just getting to that," Evie said wryly, smiling now. "No, but actually I was wondering where I could shower…?"

"Oh, right! The bath is down those stairs and then up three steps."

Evie had known full well the location of the showers, but she had remembered just in time that she was supposed to be new to Hogwarts. "Thanks," she told Lily, gathering up her things and heading in the direction the girl had pointed.

She stepped in the shower quickly, letting the delightfully hot water run over her worn muscles. The water soaked into Evie's hair, weighing the long dark mane down. She lifted the mass of her hair up and let the water run down her bare back. Pure bliss.

Who would have ever thought traveling through time would be so damn exhausting? This shower was working miracles on her stiff body. She stood beneath the stream of water for several long moments before washing and then finally turning the knob to shut the water off.

As she stepped out of the shower, the cold air hit her. She wrapped her towel tightly around herself and cleared the steam off of the mirror. Dark slate grey eyes stared back at her, wide in her pale face. Her hair was a raging mess that circled the thin visage. She sighed and started to drag a comb through the thick tangles. Her sisters had always been jealous of her hair, as she was the only one who had gotten both their mother's thick, curly locks and their father's dark auburn coloring. She knew they would have slaughtered her if she had ever cut more than an inch or two off.

Tears began to swim in her eyes and she quickly drew in a deep breath. She missed them more than she had thought she would. It wouldn't be very difficult to act like she'd lost her family recently if this kept up.

Collecting her thoughts, she stepped out of the steamed up bathroom and, finding the dormitory empty, quickly got dressed in a pair of jeans (new and stiff) and a dark green sweater. Quickly pulling her damp hair into a messy bun, she grabbed one of her textbooks and headed down to the common room.

* * *

James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew had been getting ready for class when the strange girl had dropped through the ceiling and landed unconscious on their dormitory floor. They had alerted Professor McGonagall and then had harassed the nurse all day for news of their odd visitor. When Lily Evans informed them that she was a new student, their curiosity had been suspended but not quenched.

It was James who first saw Evie walk into the common room and head to a relatively quiet corner. He gave Sirius a nudge in the ribs and then stood, stretching and trying to look nonchalant. He ambled in Evie's direction, knowing Sirius was close behind him.

Sirius was startled at the sight of Evie, more because he barely recognized her as the falling girl than because no one had expected her to appear so quickly. Granted, she had been unconscious, but Sirius thought he would have noticed that hair. He considered himself quite a connoisseur on women (although his friends would throw something at him if he ever put it that way out loud), so he must have been really preoccupied not to notice that hair! The face underneath was plain, the nose a bit too big, the mouth a bit too wide but the hair was beautiful, even wet and pulled back as it was.

All this he noticed before reaching her, though it was quickly forgotten. The moment she looked up at him with her strange wide, slanting grey eyes, Sirius lost hold of every thought in his brain.

All Evie had wanted to do was quietly observe the common room whilst pretending to read. When two vaguely familiar boys started to head in her direction, she buried her nose in her book and tried to will them away. It did not work.

"Hello. You're the one who fell into our dormitory, aren't you?"

Evie bit back an exasperated sigh and looked up to examine her visitors. The boy who had spoken was tall, with messy black hair, a mouth obviously prone to smiling, and glasses. His companion was even taller, with chin length brown hair, mischievous grey eyes, and what was certainly the build of a beater. Evie wondered just how good he was before responding to his friend's inquiry.

"Oh, that. Sorry. I'm not really sure what happened… I was going up the steps to meet the Headmaster and then I just…fell." Evie knew the mysteries of the castle would be enough to explain this trick. It's not like she could tell them the truth.

"Lily said you were from Canada," James said, obviously wanting to know more.

"Yeah, I've lived there since I was eight."

"Why'd you come here then?" Sirius had shaken himself loose of the new girl's eyes.

Evie looked down. "My aunt lives in London. I'm living with her now, so she wanted me at Hogwarts."

James cocked his head to the side. "What about your family?"

Evie gulped. It was not difficult to get emotional at this question. Her aunt did currently live in London, but she was only eight years old. Her family…well it did not exist and this fact was too painful to think of much. So, with just the right amount of tears in her eyes, Evie looked back up at the two boys, jutting out her chin in an attempt to look brave.

"They're dead, my parents and my sisters. They were killed two months ago. I was visiting my grandmum, so I wasn't there, but they're all dead."

Both boys looked shocked. Evie returned her eyes to her book, hoping that would be the end of it. To her disappointment, the boy with the glasses sat next to her and stuck his hand between her face and her book.

"I'm James Potter, by the way." He obviously expected her to shake the hand, not to snap the book shut and stand up like a startled rabbit.

Of all the people she would meet, James Potter was the one whose name had the most effect on her. No one could grow up in her time without knowing about Harry Potter, and thus about James and Lily Potter. She now realized that the latter was currently Lily Evans. She could actually see Harry's face, made famous by numerous books and newspaper articles, not to mention familiar after her most recent elevator ride, peering out at her from behind James'.

Shaking head to toe, Evie tried to gather herself. What did it matter to her, who these people were, what they would do? The past was the past and that was the end of it.

Composing herself, Evie turned back to James and shook his still proffered hand. "Evelyn Montgomery."

Sirius was looking at her quizzically, but remembered his manners in the nick of time. "And I'm Sirius Black."

Evie nodded curtly. "Excuse me boys, but I've just realized I forgot to do something." She turned and headed towards the stairs, turning back before beginning to climb them. "It was nice meeting both of you."

As soon as she was out of view, she began to run up the stairs, mind still reeling after the discovery that practically all the people she had met thus far would be killed soon enough.

It did not help that Lily was sitting in the dormitory when Evie blew in. She was sitting at the foot of her bed, reading, while three other girls lay spread out on the floor, laughing and obviously gossiping.

Lily looked up when Evie entered the room and her brow immediately furrowed as she took in the girl's agitated state.

Evie drew on her last reserves of strength to calm herself and slow down her breath. Trying to act like all was fine, she headed to her bed and stowed the book back in her trunk. When she turned back to face the room, there was no sign of the previous distress.

Lily pushed herself up off her bed and came to stand by Evie.

"Do you want to meet the other girls?" she asked quietly.

The girls she mentioned were stealing curious glances at Evie, so she figured sooner was better than later and told Lily as much.

"Hey, girls, I want you all to meet Evelyn Montgomery."

Evie interjected, "Please, it's just Evie."

Lily smiled and the three girls stood up.

A short, pudgy girl with shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes was introduced as Chelsea Tanner. Francine Reynolds had pin straight black hair and brilliant blue eyes hidden behind thickly rimmed glasses. The last of the group, and the only one Lily seemed more than cordial to, was Kylie Golan.

Kylie was a tiny girl, with blonde hair cut into a sharp pixie. Her amber eyes were bright in her small, heart shaped face. It was clear from her open smile that she was a cheerful, carefree type of person.

After introductions were finished, Evie settled on the floor next to Lily, who had asked to see her schedule. Both girls were enrolled in N.E.W.T. Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Charms. Lily was also in N.E.W.T. Transfiguration, a class Evie had adamantly refused to take. Instead, she had N.E.W.T. Herbology, as well as a private weekly lesson with Madame Pomfrey. Once she had shown the Professors she was already able to perform some healing magic, they had been all too happy to arrange the lessons.

By pushing the knowledge of just who Lily was to the back of her mind, Evie was able to carry out a pleasant conversation with the girl. Lily was obviously smart, and Evie soon found she was enjoying herself.

Evie had been anxious ever since she realized she'd come back to a very dangerous time, so she tried to guide the conversation to talk of Voldemort.

It seemed that while Lily knew of the threat to the wizarding world and was well aware of the recent disappearances and deaths of prominent wizards, she knew little else.

"It's terrible, being here, feeling safe and protected but all the while knowing that something bad is happening out there. Everyone's afraid but it's like we don't know just what to be afraid of!" Lily shook her head, obviously frustrated. "I just wish I knew what, and who, I was supposed to be fighting."

Evie nodded her head, though she was more confused than anything else. The history books described both wars so clearly. They said stuff about traitors and such, but they never mentioned that so much of the war was a mystery to most wizards.

Lily sighed. "I'm sorry to get worked up over it. It's only your first night here and I'm burdening you with all my worries."

Evie smiled. "It's alright. It's important, isn't it?"

Lily smiled back. "Yes, but I'm afraid it's also dreadfully depressing. Let's talk of something else. What do you like to do for fun?"

Evie hesitated. "Well…I don't know, read, I guess. And, well, I used to play Quidditch."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Used to?"

"Team tryouts have already happened haven't they? And I haven't got a broom anymore anyway."

"Actually, I don't know much about Quidditch. Kylie's the one you should ask."

The blonde girl looked up from the essay she was writing. "Did you say my name Lily?"

"Evie used to play Quidditch. I told her you're the one to talk to about that sort of thing."

Kylie jumped up excitedly. "You used to play? Were you any good?"

Lily laughed and excused herself, heading off to change for bed. Kylie slid into her vacant spot.

"So? Where you?"

Evie grinned. She couldn't exactly reveal that she was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team in her time, but she saw no harm in admitting how much she loved Quidditch.

"I was good, I guess. What do you play?"

"Well I'm Seeker for our team- James Potter is the captain. What position do you prefer?"

"I'm a fair Chaser, but really I'm a better Beater."

Kylie looked her up and down, obviously surprised until she took in Evie's muscular arms and sturdy frame. She gave Evie a measuring glance and then stood, tugging Evie up with her.

"Come on."

"Wait, where are we going?" Evie asked as Kylie dragged her back down to the common room. She got her answer when the other girl pulled her to a halt in front of James Potter and Sirius Black. They had been joined by two other boys: a short, pudgy boy with watery blue eyes and a lean, tired looking boy with bronze hair.

"James!" Kylie's voice was breathy with excitement.

"Kylie!" James was obviously mocking her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Have you met Evie?"

"Yes," James said, smiling. "Sirius and I met her earlier." He turned to the two newcomers. "Guys, this is Evie Montgomery. Evie," he turned back to face the girls, "This is Peter-" The pudgy boy gave a half wave. "And Remus." The other boy smiled and said hello softly.

Kylie was practically jumping out of her skin. "Are you through?"

"Golan, relax." Sirius was obviously doing just that, lounging in his chair with his booted feet up on a neighboring table.

"Sirius, you'll like this too, so shut it." Kylie's smile widened, if that was even possible. "Did Evie tell you she plays Quidditch?"

James eyed Evie, obviously doubtful. "No."

"Well she does. And guess what – she's a Beater!"

Sirius snorted and swung his feet down. "Her?"

Evie could feel herself tensing, the anger uncurling in her stomach at the incredulity in his voice. She had dealt with this all too often. Too many boys thought that girls were too soft to be beaters. However, in her experience getting emotional only made the problem worse.

So, as he looked her up and down, she waited to catch his eye. When she finally did, she gave him her slowest, most predatory grin. He looked taken aback and she laughed.

"You think that boys are the only ones who can hit a ball with a stick?" She put as much derision into 'boys' as she possibly could.

"You really play then?" James asked, secretly amused by the expression on his best friend's face.

Evie simply shrugged. "Would I say I did if I didn't?"

"You look like a breeze would push you over." Apparently Sirius hadn't been convinced.

So quickly no one realized what she was doing until it was done, Evie grabbed Sirius's arm and twisted it behind him. He struggled to get loose, but Evie's grip was sure and strong. Her hands, seemingly pale and fragile, did not loosen, not even when Sirius tried to shake her off by flexing his own not inconsiderable muscle.

Remus and Kylie both laughed, and it was obvious that James was close to doing the same. Peter was looking at Evie with wide, awed eyes.

Evie leaned in close to Sirius, her breath tickling the back of his neck. "Uncle?"

Sirius nodded and stumbled when she released him. He rubbed his arm: Her hands had left a mark.

"That doesn't prove you're a good Beater," he exclaimed angrily.

Evie gave her noncommittal shrug again. He would think twice before calling her weak again and that was all she wanted.

"Sirius, come on mate. We do need another Beater. You can't handle it all by yourself."

She had been right then. He was a Beater himself. Eyeing him once more, she had to admit they would be well matched. She wasn't sure she could have done what she just had if he hadn't been so surprised.

Sirius sighed and sat down, swinging his feet back up onto the table.

James obviously saw this as acceptance. He turned to Evie. "Do you want to try out for the team then?"

"Sure."

"Tomorrow? Before dinner, down at the pitch."

Evie nodded and James turned back to his friends. Evie turned to go and then remembered something. Swearing under her breath, she turned back towards the boys.

"I don't have a broom."

James looked up and raised his eyebrows.

Talking quickly, Evie explained. "I had one and I can get a new one I think but when everything happened…"She trailed off and then gulped. "It was destroyed with pretty much everything else I owned."

Thankfully James didn't change his look into one of pity. Instead he nodded briskly. "You'll borrow one of the school's tomorrow and then we'll see where we go from there."

Evie nodded and headed back up the stairs with Kylie. The other girl was chattering excitedly, positive that Evie would make the team. Evie was lost in thought, wondering why she was getting involved.

She didn't belong here. She wouldn't be here for very long if she had anything to say about it. So why was she trying out for the Quidditch team and laughing with Lily like she was her friend? Evie changed and crawled into bed distractedly.

She was going home, where she had family and friends and a future. She wasn't supposed to be here.

So why did she suddenly feel like going back would hurt more than leaving had?

**Please Review! I appreciate the feedback!**


	4. Wish I Could Fly Away

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, just the original characters and the plot. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

Evie woke earlier than the other girls the next morning, skipping the showers and quickly throwing on one of her new uniforms. She left the tie slung over her chair and wore her hair in two messy braids, knowing all too well that it would escape the ties before lunch.

Picking up her bag, she raced down the stairs and quickly wove her way through the corridors. It was going to be exhausting, acting like a lost and confused newcomer. She did not even bother to stop in the dining hall, heading straight for the library. She had just enough time to pick out two books, one on the history of time travel, the other on modern methods, before heading to her first class of the day: potions.

She entered the classroom and immediately felt the eyes of her classmates latch on to her. A waving hand towards the front indicated that Lily had saved her a seat. Ignoring the curious looks, Evie joined her new friend.

"Where did you disappear to this morning?" Lily asked, as Evie pulled out her textbook, careful not to reveal the latest additions to her bag.

Evie shrugged, "Just had to check some things, is all." She purposefully looked away then turned back to Lily with a smile. "I got lost at least three times. This castle is huge!"

The years of experience avoiding questions from her sisters paid off. Lily, satisfied with this half answer, smiled back. "You get used to it. You should have waited- I could have showed you around."

"I'll be counting on you for the rest of the day."

Their conversation was interrupted as a portly man with a large mustache came up the aisle, greeting students as he walked. When he reached their desk, he gave Lily a large smile and a meaty pat on her shoulder before turning towards Evie.

"So you're the girl the headmaster sees fit to throw into my NEWT class," he stated brusquely.

Evie found it hard to be cowed by the gruff manner of a man who more resembled a chubby walrus she'd once seen in the zoo than a formidable wizard. All the same, she lowered her eyes and willed a blush to her cheeks. "Yes, sir."

The professor, a bit taken aback at first, let out a 'harrumph' and eyed her quizzically before smiling. "We'll see how you do. Not like I can ignore Dumbledore's orders, is it? No? Well then, Professor Slughorn's the name."

"Evie Montgomery, sir."

Slughorn nodded and proceeded to his desk at the front of the room. Lily leaned over and patted Evie's hand. "He really is the sweetest thing, you'll see," she said, before turning her attention to the professor, who was writing the instructions to a potion on the board.

"Yeah, only if he likes you," Evie heard someone mutter from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were sitting there and, while Remus was giving his friend a disapproving look, Sirius was grinning at her mischievously. She grinned right back.

The potion, surprisingly enough, was one that Evie's mother (an accomplished witch in her own right, though she always said raising her daughters was work enough for her) had taught her that summer. Thanking whatever luck was on her side, she set about making it and by the end of the lesson had earned Slughorn's respect.

She knew that it wasn't likely she'd be so lucky in the rest of her lessons (except perhaps Herbology) since she was technically a month behind, so it was nice to have one class in which she knew what she was doing.

After Potions, Lily headed to Transfiguration, along with the most of the other seventh year Gryffindors. Evie, letting her friend know that she was fine on her own, headed to one of the courtyards near the Great Hall and settled in to read her library books.

Although very interesting, the history of time travel yielded very little useful information. The second book was much more helpful and soon Evie was lost in the text, chewing her lip in concentration and twirling one of her braids. This was how Sirius Black found her over an hour later.

He had been disturbed to discover that this girl who had so mysteriously appeared at Hogwarts captivated him. Although he was positive that her grief for her family was genuine, he was not convinced that her story was true. She seemed…well, quite frankly she seemed too British to be Canadian, not to mention the fact that despite all her claims, she did not seem at all lost in the halls of Hogwarts.

There was something missing from her story and he wanted to know what it was. So when he happened upon her in the courtyard he took advantage of the opportunity and snuck up on her.

Evie jumped when he tapped her shoulder, simultaneously losing her place and whacking him on the head with the book. In the moment it took him to recover, she stowed away the book and switched it with her readily available Charms text.

"Blimey! Do you always hit people when they come over to say hello?" Sirius was reconsidering his assumption that this girl could never be a beater as he rubbed the sizable lump growing on his forehead.

"Only when they act like they're trying to mug me," Evie replied wryly. "People saying an innocent hello don't usually use the sneak attack approach."

Sirius grinned. "Wait until you get to know James and you'll never say that again."

Evie frowned. She didn't _want_ to get to know James. She didn't like being friends with people she knew would die soon enough.

Sirius saw the frown and changed topics. "So…you don't like Transfiguration?"

"More like it doesn't like me," said Evie ruefully. "I can barely change a hedgehog into a pincushion without hurting myself or the hedgehog."

Sirius laughed. "Those hedgehogs are so confused by the time we're through with them I doubt they even notice."

"Yes, well, I much prefer my other classes."

Sirius considered her for a moment. "Lily said you like Herbology and that you want to be a healer."

Evie blushed. "Lily is right. I can do much more good as a Healer than I can trying to turn turtles into teapots."

Sirius nodded. "I guess you're right."

Evie smiled and then stood, storing away her book. "Isn't it about time for lunch?"

With that the two proceeded to the Great Hall.

* * *

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Evie was only a bit behind in Charms, and though the gap in her knowledge was much more considerable in Defense Against the Dark Arts, she had already secured herself a tutor by way of Remus Lupin.

Both Lily and Kylie accompanied Evie down to the Quidditch pitch. Evie didn't have much by way of gear, so she had been surprised to find a pair of worn leather gloves on her bed when she went upstairs to change. She had reckoned without the kindness of her new Gryffindor year mates. Sure enough, there was a small KG inked on the inside of each glove. This small gift had been enough to brighten her mood and tear her mind away from pondering her current predicament.

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were already waiting at the pitch. Two boys, one tall with curly red hair and the other black haired and stocky, stood off to the side. A slender brunette was giggling as Sirius whispered something in her ear. Evie assumed they were the other members of the team.

Kylie moved closer to Evie as they walked towards the small group. "The three you don't know are the other team members," Kylie murmured, confirming Evie's suspicions.

"The girl, Lara Milner, she's a chaser and a 5th year. Everyone knows that she's after Sirius and that she wouldn't bother with Quidditch if he weren't on the team. She's actually quite good, when he's not distracting her."

Lily snorted, but Kylie continued, ignoring her.

"That's the other chaser," Kylie nodded towards the redhead. "Name's Alexander Styce. He's a 6th year and full of it. He's good, but he thinks he's great. He assumes he'll be captain next year but James thinks Tommy Calvino, he's the one with the black hair, is a better choice. Tommy's Keeper and he's absolutely brilliant. He's quiet so Styce overpowers him somewhat, but he knows his stuff."

"Not to mention you have a crush on him," Lily put in dryly, causing Kylie to blush.

"Just like you have a crush on James?" Kylie taunted.

It was Lily's turn to blush. "He's much nicer than he used to be. I guess I didn't really know him before."

"She hated him," Kylie informed Evie.

"I did not!"

Kylie gave her a pointed look.

"Ok, maybe I thought he was arrogant."

Kylie rolled her eyes. "James has loved Lily since day one. And Lily…she either ignored him or fought with him. And now…" Kylie grinned. "Now she likes him."

Lily turned on Evie. "But you cannot, I repeat, cannot tell him that." She accented each word with a shake of her index finger.

Evie held up both hands and widened her eyes in feigned innocence. "Tell him what?"

Lily gave her one last glare before turning and walking on.

Kylie shook her head and tugged Evie on.

When they reached the group, Sirius pulled away from Lara and crossed his arms. "Took you long enough."

Evie grinned. "Sorry, had to powder my nose, dear. Don't get your panties all in a bunch."

"Children, children, cut it out," James interceded. "This is a tryout, remember?" He gave them each a look. "Sirius, go get Evie a broom."

Sirius headed off to the broom shed, muttering under his breath.

"Ok, so Evie I'm going to have you fly around a bit, just to see you in the air, then we'll send you and Sirius up there to hit a bludger back and forth. After that we'll reassess. Sound alright?"

Evie nodded and peeled off her cloak. It was a warm enough afternoon to just play in a sweater and jeans. Sirius was coming back from the shed, a smirk on his face. Evie eyed the broom warily. He had grabbed quite possibly the worst broom she had ever seen. So he thought she couldn't handle it?

Evie saw James open his mouth, apparently about to scold his friend. Laying a hand on his arm as she moved past, she shook her head slightly. Smiling at Sirius innocently, she accepted the broom.

"Thanks."

Sirius' grin widened. "No problem."

Let him think she was an idiot. She was the youngest in her family and had suffered through worse hand-me-downs in her time. She smiled ruefully and rubbed a scar on her forearm that the hand-me-down broom she had learned to ride on had left when it decided to roll and plummet on her first solo ride. She had only been seven.

She ran her hands down the length of the broomstick, recognizing the glitches in the magic holding it together. She had worked as an assistant at Quality Quidditch Supplies in Diagon Alley the summer before. While she was no expert, she did know how to avoid the tricks this broom was prepared to spring.

Checking to make sure that the primary spells were still intact, Evie mounted the broom and took off.

She felt the broom waver, the sprite-like magic testing the situation, and almost instantly felt it settle. Breathing in deep the crisp fall air she leaned forward and shot to the far end of the pitch.

Up in the air, alone with nothing but the wind, Evie could finally breathe. The thoughts of home, the terror of that timeless place, and the sorrow at being stranded in such a strange time: it all faded into the background. Right then, there was only the feeling of freedom and solitude. Forgetting where she was and even why she was flying, Evie flew in loops around the pitch, spinning and diving just for the pure glory of flying.

On the ground, everyone stood watching. James stood next to Sirius. He had been angry with his friend for not seeing that they needed this girl to be good, no matter who she was. He had been angry that Sirius had chosen the worst broom possible for Evie. But watching her fly, he forgot.

It was clear to everyone that she had forgotten this was supposed to be a tryout. She flew effortlessly, beautifully, but not the way one flies to play Quidditch. She flew like the only thing she needed, the only thing she wanted, was to just be alone and free.

Sirius, who had been frustrated by Evie's easy attitude walking onto the pitch, watched her fly and suddenly remembered why he had started flying. He could see on her face the simple joy of being free of everything.

They watched as Evie let go of the broom and dove, arms outstretched, plummeting at an unfathomable speed towards the ground. She pulled up quickly, not even using her hands, and they heard the soft strain of a laugh.

Once she pulled out of the dive, Evie remembered where she was. Speeding back to the group, low to the ground, she grinned. Let them say she couldn't fly now.

She stopped short in front of Sirius. "So? I thought this was a tryout?"

"And I thought I gave you the worst broom," he retorted, grinning and picking up his own broom.

James handed them each a bat and released one of the bludgers. They both shot into the air, racing to be the first to reach it. Sirius got there first and hit it towards the goal posts. Evie swung her bat in a powerful stroke and smashed it back towards him. This continued for another few minutes before James subtly signaled the other players into the air, testing Evie's ability to protect her teammates.

There was one moment when Sirius hit the Bludger towards Styce and it looked like Evie wouldn't be able to turn and catch it in time. But then her arm swung back and the bat hit the bludger with a loud thwack, sending it roaring back towards the goal posts.

After that, there really was no point in pretending she wouldn't make the team. James called the team in and they each congratulated Evie and filtered off the pitch. When only James, Lily, and Kylie were left (Remus and Peter having gone in for dinner) Evie looked back to the sky. Sure enough, Sirius was weaving in and out of the goalposts. She told them to go back without her and, watching them leave the pitch, remounted her broom and flew back up to meet Sirius in the sky.

They hovered in mid-field, both looking out over the grounds.

"Where did you learn that Bludger Backbeat?" Sirius asked.

"My older sister, Julie. She's…well she _was_ a Chaser but she was basically brilliant wherever you put her on the pitch." Evie smiled, remembering the day Jules had taught her that move. "She was nine years older than me, so by the time I turned ten she was really good. None of my other sisters really played much. The twins would sometimes, but Jules taught me everything. I almost broke her nose the first time I tried that."

Sirius looked at her. "How many sisters did you have?"

"Five."

"And you were the youngest?"

"Yes."

"Wow."

Evie laughed. "It wasn't as bad as it sounds."

"You miss them."

Evie shielded her eyes against the glare of the setting sun (when had it gotten to be so late?) and looked at him. "It hasn't really hit me yet. I keep thinking I'll see them soon, that Jules will come and visit or that Margaret will owl me to check in and remind me that I need to study more." Evie could feel the tears forming and swallowed.

Sirius noted the tears trickling down her cheeks and turned away. He wasn't very good with crying, even this quiet stoic kind. "Race you to the broom shed?"

Evie hiccupped and then drew in another deep breath. "Yeah, sure."

Sirius pitched forward on his broom and sped off. Evie smiled and followed her newest friend.


	5. Why This is Not Home

**Author's Note: Sorry it's taken so long to update! My life's been really crazy recently with school and work and stuff but things are settling down so hopefully that means more frequent, longer updates. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alert-listed/read so far. I hope you enjoy this tidbit!**

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowling's. **

* * *

Evie had spoken the truth when she told Sirius that she didn't quite believe the reality of her situation yet. She spent the next week going to class, eating meals, writing papers, playing Quidditch, and laughing with her friends, much like she would have in her own time. There moments when she felt twinges of guilt and homesickness but then Lily would make another joke or James would assign another drill and she would forget.

So the week passed by in a haze of displaced normalcy and soon enough it was Friday night again. Lily had persuaded James to cancel practice (it seemed that she was the only one he would be distracted by) and so the gang gathered in the common room and claimed one of the fireplaces as theirs. Kylie was off with some other friends and Peter had apparently gone upstairs and fallen asleep immediately after dinner but the remaining five were the image of good cheer.

Lily was curled up under a blanket reading, her feet resting in James' lap. The latter was arguing about some trivial muggle fact with Sirius. Remus and Evie sat on the ground playing a pitched battle of wizard chess. Remus was winning but it was by a slim margin.

Remus goaded Evie into describing her sisters and soon enough the others were listening too as she described the time that Julie (at the time only thirteen) had decided to take her three youngest sisters (none above the age of six) on a picnic and had accidentally grabbed a damaged magical carpet instead of a blanket, leading to all sorts trouble and later much hilarity.

"You sound like you were all close," Remus concluded as she finished her story.

Evie frowned. "I guess we were." There was a twinge at this thought. "I never really appreciated it…before."

"I've always wanted a big family, but it's just me and my parents. Not that they're not great but there's something about siblings." Remus' mournful expression held no pity for Evie's own situation and she was grateful as she took it in. There was something there that reminded her of her past, or she supposed her future.

"Siblings aren't always so great," grumbled Sirius and James patted him on the shoulder.

Over the past week Evie had noticed Sirius's anger over his family and typically she would have been curious about this aside. But something in Remus' face, more specifically in that look…

She gasped, and the others looked at her curiously. Evie's face had gone pale and she was visibly shaking.

"Evie? You alright?" Lily unfurled herself from the couch, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Evie reached back and grabbed onto it, looking at Lily with a deeply haunted look in her eyes. "Teddy," she whispered.

Even before she had arrived at Hogwarts she had heard of Teddy Lupin from Audrey and Isabel. The twins both had a crush on the boy. Evie was surprised she'd never connected the names or the faces before. There was a lot of Teddy in Remus, or she supposed it was the other way around. But it had been that bereaved look that had struck a chord.

During her own time at Hogwarts, Evie had gotten to know Teddy. Generally a good natured, clever boy there were moments a shadow would pass over his face. It was then that no one who knew him could forget that he was indeed an orphan. His parents had both been killed in the final battle and he had never known them. Evie had played with him on the Quidditch team and knew his quirks. Looking at Remus now, she could not believe the relation had ever escaped her.

The others were still staring at her and suddenly her memories flooded back: the life she was supposed to be leading, the fates of every person staring curiously at her. And the fates of those they would love: Harry, whose story she could not help knowing and Teddy, Teddy who had been her friend, who had flown and laughed with her. It was Teddy's fate that struck home. It was strange that it hadn't been these new friends whose fates tore her apart, but it was the truth. They would die, she knew when, and yes it was saddening. But that did not affect them right now and that was the difference. At this moment, they were unaffected by their fates.

Not like Teddy. She had seen that look, those moments. He was the one who had had to live with it his whole life. And now it was as though she was the same. Her friends were here, but they were also gone and she knew what the world would be without them.

The situation was too much, too wrong and Evie did not even notice the tears on her cheeks as she took in each of their faces and stood almost mechanically, muttering some lame, robotic excuse before slowly climbing the stairs to the dormitory, clutching her arms to her side, not knowing the confusion she was leaving behind. Her mind was reeling and she did not care. She did not want to be where she was.

* * *

Hogwarts was unarguably a strange place. Magic, for one thing, was not exactly the simplest of things. But as the four friends sat perplexed by the dying fire, they all were thinking the same thing: it had been strange before, but Evie's arrival had made it stranger still.

"Sometimes I wonder if that girl is crazy." Sirius sighed and leaned his head back.

Lily reached out and smacked his knee. "Shush. She's just…going through a lot is all it is."

"Yeah, like a mental breakdown?" snorted James.

Lily glared.

"You have to admit it does sound reasonable," added Remus.

"Out of all of you, I thought you would be kind Remus!" Lily scoffed.

Remus held his hands up in sign of peace. "Just think about Lily: she is set off by random things, freaks out in the middle of a simple conversation, and says weird things. Or can _you_ tell me who Teddy is?"

Lily sighed in admittance. "She does act odd at times, but that does not give you boys the right to be cruel."

The three boys nodded and Remus began to dejectedly clean up the pieces of the incomplete chess game.

"Who _do_ you think Teddy is?" Sirius asked as they all headed towards the stairs.

No one could give any sort of answer and so they retired with heads full of questions.

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. A Lake and Some Pancakes

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alert-listed/read so far. I really appreciate all feedback!**

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowling's.**

As all of Hogwarts slept, two people sat awake.

Sirius Black sat on the windowsill of the boys' dormitory, legs dangling into empty air. The sounds of his slumbering roommates filled the night as he sat pondering. Evie was certainly one of the topics he considered, as was Regulus and the rising war. Mostly he did not know what to think and thus simply drifted from notion to notion.

Evie sat in her bed with the curtains drawn tight around her. She sat with her knees digging into her chest and relished in the pain. Her nails were curled into her palms, gouging crescents into the flesh, and this too was good. Pain, feeling: something to remind her not to cry out as everything crashed upon her. Past. Present. Future. And that place where they all blended and sense of self was lost. She remembered and that remembering did not bring clarity.

Then dawn broke as it tends to do and their waking reverie was broken.

Evie slipped out of the dorm and sought refuge by the lake. Sirius took to the skies. Two hours later he landed at the pitch and, in a much less melancholy mood, began the journey back up to the castle.

Evie still lay in the grass, staring at the sky. Past, present, whatever it was the sky was the same: blue and grey with a chance of clouds. Clouds changed shape and chased each other from the panorama of her vision.

When Sirius came upon her, he did not know what to think. There were tears still wet upon her cheeks but a smile on her face as well. The tears warned of danger but the smile seemed to imply that the storm was past. He took his chances and plopped down besides her, startling a soft 'oh' out of the daydreaming girl.

"You keep doing that," she mused, turning back to the sky.

"What?"

"Surprising me."

Sirius smiled. " I suppose I do." He too looked to the sky. "You're up early this morning. Everything alright?"

Evie did not miss the hidden question in his voice. Blushing, she nonetheless answered it. "Let's not play those games."

"What games?"

"The ones where you not so subtly try to figure out if I am insane or simply silly. I'm fine. Last night…" Evie closed her eyes and swallowed. _Last night I lost my mind for a while. Last night was horrible and terrifying and painful. _"I just remembered people I used to know and well– it was difficult."

"You used to know a person named Teddy? Or your old stuffed animal?" Sirius really did not want to have to deal with more tears.

He certainly managed to shock a laugh out of Evie. Of course he also provoked her into throwing torn up grass in his open mouth when he too began to laugh. What could have become a terribly tragic conversation was instantly turned into a full out war that only subsided when Sirius managed to push Evie into the cold lake.

She came up spitting water and laughing hilariously at the terrified expression on Sirius' face. Taking advantage of his petrified state she pulled him in after her.

"You've obviously never dealt with girls who know how to laugh."

Sirius shook out his hair, making sure most of the water landed on her. "Most girls would scream or cry or slap me or maybe do a combination of all three."

Evie rolled her eyes. "That's stupid. It's only water."

Sirius laughed. "Apparently you aren't most girls."

Evie climbed out of the water and used a spell to dry her clothes. Sirius followed suit. They walked up to the castle together and when the others entered the Great Hall for brunch they were already sitting there discussing various Quidditch tactics.

Lily slid in next to Evie. "I would say good morning but I think it's actually the afternoon," she said ruefully. "Almost an entire day wasted!"

Sirius caught Evie's eye and stuck out his tongue. She fought the ensuing smile before rolling her eyes at him and turning back to Lily.

"It's only noon Lily. There's still plenty of day left."

James was shoveling pancakes into his mouth. "Wyea Wiwy, pleggy ov trime."

"Eww, James, don't do that." Lily wrinkled up her nose delicately at the food falling out his mouth.

"Vhad ee do blily?" Sirius imitated his friend, though he did not spew any chunks of strawberry in the process.

Lily tried to ignore their antics by turning back to Evie only to find that her friend was laughing at their behavior.

"Sorry Lily but you have to admit seeing James manage to somehow shoot food from his mouth into his hair is quite funny."

At this James quickly swallowed and began to run his fingers through his hair, spreading syrup through it in the process. Even Lily could not help but laugh at the sight.

When they had finished teasing James, everyone turned back to their own meals.

"So what are your plans for the day?" Remus was sitting on the other side of Evie.

She shrugged. "Homework, I suppose."

Remus nodded. "Do you want to go to the library later? I have to finish that essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Sirius interjected before she could respond: "The library? On a _Saturday?_ You've got to be joking."

"He's right. Saturdays are for goofing around, not work!" James joined the conversation.

Evie shook her head. "No, I've got a lot of catching up to do. And thanks to you," she gestured in Sirius' direction, "I've already fit in enough fooling around for an entire weekend."

"You really aren't that far behind the rest of us." Lily frowned. "I thought maybe we could go down to Hogsmeade."

Evie felt a twinge of guilt. "I'd really love to Lily but I do have to finish a lot of work."

"I thought we could play some Quidditch," James pouted.

Evie sighed and stood. "Look, I'm sorry, but I _need_ to do work today. Will you just give it a rest?" The last bit came out harsher than she meant it to but it certainly quelled them enough to give her the opportunity to excuse herself.

Remus pushed his plate away after she left and stood to leave as well. "It's not such a bad thing to want to do work, you know." He quickly followed Evie out of the Great Hall.

Despite Remus' hopes, Evie had already disappeared. Using her old knowledge of the castle's shortcuts, she was already halfway back to the dormitory. Today was for work, but not the kind of work she wanted to do with Remus sitting next to her. She grabbed the two books she had taken out of the library and, after checking that the coast was clear, made her way to the Restricted Section of the library.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please do review: it's always good for a writer to get feedback. The plot should move forward at a faster pace in the next few chapters. You might even be able to catch a glimpse of where I am going to be taking the story in the long run! Oh and according to my calendar, there's a full moon coming up in 1977...**


	7. Restricted Information

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alert-listed/read so far. I really appreciate all feedback!**

**DISCLAIMER:**** Don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowling's.**

Evie was convinced that the Restricted Section of the library would hold an answer to her dilemma and so, restricted or not, she was going to explore it. She knew better than to creep through the stacks, hoping that the librarian would be distracted. People who crept were always caught and distractions did not happen, they were created.

One without siblings, and perhaps even those without older siblings, might wonder where a girl of seventeen had learned to sneak around and act the fool. Yet Evie had always been hiding one thing or another: stolen clothing from Lucy, a poor grade from Margaret, a new boyfriend from Audrey and Isabel, late nights from her mother. There were only two people in the world she could not hide from: her father and Julie. The first was because she could not, the latter because she would not.

And thus she grew skilled in trickery and learned to hide herself when necessary. Her life at Hogwarts had not given her any reason to stop doing so. She had not lied when she'd said she had a friend named Charlie. He and a girl named Brooke were her best friends. While they were not known for troublemaking, they did a lot of sneaking around under the radar. Evie was not the kind of girl who asked for permission if there were any chance she would not get it.

So, when she entered the library, she took care to sit at a table by a large window, pull out several textbooks and study before casting the spell that would cause several difficult to quench fires to light in the Divination section. By the time the librarian had realized what was happening and begun to take the necessary steps to undo the damage, Evie was deep within the Restricted Section. As planned, Madam Pince did not even notice the absence of the quiet new student when she returned, rightly infuriated by the continued antics of her students.

Evie pulled a list of six books from her sweater pocket. Luckily her dunk in the lake had not ruined the writing. She found the first two books easily but as she approached the shelf containing the third someone laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Swearing silently for letting someone sneak up on her, she turned slowly and found herself eye to eye with the Headmaster.

"Hello Miss Montgomery." Surprisingly, Dumbledore did not seem angry. Instead he grinned down at her even as he gently pulled the two books from her grasp.

"Professor." Relieved of their burden her hands shook and so she shoved them in the pockets of her sweater.

"What have we here? _The Inner Workings of Time_? Hmm. And _Spells for the Advanced Manipulation of Time_? Are you doing some research Miss Montgomery?" Dumbledore's looked at her carefully, knowing she would not respond, before continuing. "It is perfectly understandable that you might wish to speed up the process and find your own way home. Indeed I believe it is well within your rights." Evie looked up at him, surprised.

"However, that does not mean that I in any way condone you using such inappropriate resources Miss Montgomery."

Evie looked down at the tops of her shoes. "I understand sir."

Dumbledore nodded. "I hope you do. These books, and for that matter any on that list of yours, could land you in more trouble than you are in now." He sighed and placed the books on a nearby shelf, gently guiding the girl towards the entrance of the section.

"Under any other circumstances I would have to punish you. But Miss Montgomery," he turned to her and placed both hands on her shoulders, "yours is a most unique situation. I do not think it would be appropriate for you to be punished for what is instinct. If it occurs again…"

Evie cut in. "It won't sir, I promise. I just want to go home."

They had reached the entrance of the section and he unclipped the rope cordoning it off from the rest of the library. "Yes, well I assure you I am working towards finding you a way back. There is a chance we may be able to procure a time-turner from the Ministry."

"Really? You think you might be able to get one for me?"

Dumbledore smiled at her kindly. "I hope so. They are, however, very rare, as you know if you've been doing research. The ministry is very strict about how exactly they are used."

Evie nodded. She knew this much, not just from her research but also from her father. Time turners were one thing he would talk about, even if only a little. The fact that they were considered dangerous and inappropriate for most wizards was nothing new to her.

"Nonetheless, there is a chance we will be able to get one. If we do, my first task will be to get you safely home. For now, be careful." He looked at her sternly now. "Be vigilant about what you reveal about yourself. There are many people who would see what you know as an opportunity to gain advantage in these troubled times. Not all of them would be gentle in retrieving that information."

Evie gulped and nodded. Talking with Lily and the boys had opened her eyes about exactly how dangerous of a time she was in. "I will be. I just want to go home. I'll do whatever…just please, I want to go home."

Dumbledore nodded and patted her on the shoulder. "Good. If you can be careful, we might be able to accomplish just that. Now I suggest you get back to your studies."

Evie nodded and headed back to her table. If the headmaster was telling the truth, and she thought he was, she might be home in a month or two. She smiled to herself, thinking of being home and knowing where she stood. She pushed down the twinge of guilt and the thought that when she left she would leave behind everyone here. She also reminded herself that she couldn't get complacent. Just because Dumbledore was working at it, didn't mean she should stop looking for other solutions. Unaware of the grin on her face, she set down to work.

* * *

Remus had looked for Evie in the library and left when he'd seen Madam Pince fuming at her desk. He wasn't about to get involved with that mess.

Sirius, on the other hand, walked right into the library as if he owned it, ignoring Madam Pince's glare (he was, after all, a known trouble maker). Spending his morning with Evie had been unexpected, and pleasantly so. Going to find her after he and his friends had pissed her off was another unexpected part of his day. Usually he would have let it slide and gone outside with James. But something about Evie was still bothering him and he didn't like leaving any unresolved issues hanging around.

Rounding a bookcase, he caught sight of her. Or at least of her long wild hair. He was about to call her name but then he saw the person she was talking to. Dumbledore was looking down at her with a kind smile on his face, the same he had shown Sirius when, on the second day of his first year, Dumbledore had called him to his office to discuss the Howler from his mother.

Sirius backed around the bookshelf and listened. He was able to catch snippets of their conversation: "…very rare…been doing research. The ministry…how exactly…a chance we will be able to get one…be careful…people who would see what you… an opportunity to gain advantage…Not all … be gentle…that information."

Sirius frowned. This was not a typical conversation. Dumbledore did not sound as though he was merely checking in on a new student. He listened closer. Evie was speaking now: "…will be… do whatever…just please…go home."

Dumbledore was saying goodbye now and Sirius backed away, turning and walking down another aisle. He had barely understood a word of what had just happened. He had, however, understood the tone. Something was at stake, something big, and it sounded like something involving Evie. What could a new student, supposedly fresh out of Canada, have or know to provoke this kind of conversation?

Sirius did not like secrets. Not stopping to consider that this one might not be any of his business, he vowed to discover the truth. Evie was hiding something from them, and he would be damned if it was something innocent.

Though Sirius did not like secrets, he did like this kind of challenge: secrets were like riddles. If you knew the right words, you would find the answer. So the first thing to do was talk to Evie.

He looked around, hoping that she hadn't left yet. Fortunately for him, she had only gone back to one of the tables and was picking up a book. Sirius was a bit taken aback by the smile on her face. The conversation he had overheard had seemed serious, not something to make the girl look like she had just won a prize.

Undeterred he strode over and pulled out a chair, once more startling the girl. This time she smiled. "Hello Sirius. I thought you avoided the library at all costs."

He grinned. "I figured I might as well see what you and Moony were on about."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at him for a moment. Although her eyes had not startled him since the first time he had seen them, he found himself caught this time as she appraised him. She seemed to notice as she turned away after a moment, looking back at her book, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush.

Sirius took advantage of the moment to reevaluate her appearance. The first time he'd seen her he'd passed her off as plain, and understandably so. Evie did not possess the delicate charm of many beautiful women, nor did she have that odd combination of features that so often lends a strange, otherworldly beauty.

He had noticed before only the beauty in the wild hair and strange eyes. Yet in the last ten days he had seen more of her character and now he let it color her image. Where before he had seen a nose slightly too large for her other features he saw the representation of her stubborn and often high-minded pride. Her mouth, once seen as wide, now seemed so only because it was prone to smiles and laughter. While he had once thought her too thin and wiry, he could now see the toned muscles and limber body that was the result of many trying hours on the field.

Sirius was surprised he had once seen her as plain. Though he would never call her beautiful, his first evaluation of her had missed the peculiar grace of her person.

"You didn't think it necessary to bring any books?"

Evie's comment startled Sirius, shaking him out of his reverie abruptly. His mind jumped to the first thing he could remember: "What were you and Dumbledore talking about?"

Evie's eyes widened and Sirius berated himself for being such an idiot. She would never answer now.

To his surprise, Evie did not blush or even grow angry at his impertinence. Instead, the same smile he had seen on her face before spread across her features. She made no effort to conceal her pleasure either, even as she shook her head. "I can't tell."

Sirius pouted. "I thought we were friends."

Evie laughed, loudly this time and Madam Pince glared at her. Evie ducked her chin in embarrassment but the bright grin was still on her face and her eyes were mischievously bright when she lifted them to meet his. "I really can't tell Sirius. You wouldn't like it anyway." A shadow came into her eyes at this but she pushed it away. "It's nothing bad, just something that we had spoken of when I first came here."

"If it's nothing bad, then why wouldn't I like it?"

"Because it has nothing to do with you," Evie replied flippantly.

"But everything to do with you."

A flicker of anger crossed Evie's face. "Sirius, just drop it, alright? It's nothing you need to or even want to know."

"If it's something to do with you, and you certainly haven't denied it is, I bet I do want to know. You're my friend."

Evie sighed and shook her head. "Do I need to spell it out for you? It's private, it's unimportant, and I'm not going to tell you, no matter how much you pester me."

Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "Alright."

He had expected Evie to take this comment and leave. Instead, she turned and looked him straight in the eyes. "Sirius, I know that tone, I know that shrug. You think I don't know you're just waiting for your next chance to pounce? You think I don't know that you're planning to shock and wheedle the truth out of me? You forget who it is you're talking to. Do you really think that I grew up in a house full of sisters always curious about what the baby was up to without developing a sense for this type of thing?"

He had forgotten but he wasn't about to say so. She obviously took his silence as a yes.

"You can try whatever tricks and gimmicks you want. You can spend the rest of your life trying to find out. Unless I _want_ to tell you, you won't ever get the truth. Don't forget: I've been on both sides of this game too many times to not know several hundred tricks of my own." Seemingly satisfied that he had gotten the message, Evie nodded her head and turned back to her book. "I have a paper to write now so please leave."

Sirius stood, slightly astonished at the wall she had so clearly put up between them. "Well, alright then."

She looked up at him and, although her eyes were still wary, smiled. "I'll see you at dinner."

As he walked from the library, Sirius mulled their conversation over in his head. She was right: he could already see that he would be hard pressed to get her to talk if she didn't want to. Whatever it was she was hiding, it was obviously something that made her happy. One part of Sirius, the part that admired her and was intoxicated by her laughter, wanted to leave it at that. The other part, the part that was leery of strangers and all too aware of the war growing outside of Hogwarts' gates, was convinced that there might be something more to the story, something he'd eventually want to know.

Some of Dumbledore's words came echoing back to him as he climbed through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor dormitory: "be careful…people who would see what you…an opportunity to gain advantage." Dumbledore's words had sounded serious to him. Even if Evie was telling the truth and what they had been talking of was good news, why would the headmaster issue such a warning?

As Sirius sat by one of the fires, nodding a greeting to a studying Peter, the question that had been irking him came to the forefront: what about Evie could offer an opportunity to gain advantage, and to whom?

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please do review: it's always good for a writer to get feedback.**


	8. Love: Past Present Future?

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alert-listed/read so far. I really appreciate all feedback!**

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowling's.**

**

* * *

  
**

Evie did not return to the Gryffindor dormitory until later that night. The others had wondered at her absence when they were at dinner but Sirius had brushed the comments off by letting them know he had seen her in the library. Of course this comment had sparked much laughter until they realized that their friend was not joking.

When Evie did finally pull away from her books, homework finished, the sun had set and the waxing moon shone through the windows. She entered the common room to find her friends all gathered around one of the fireplaces, talking about some girl Sirius had dumped last month who was now apparently stalking him.

"I swear, I never thought she'd be one of the crazy ones!" Sirius was laughing, obviously not at all concerned with this infatuation.

Evie plopped down on the couch next to him, startling him for a change. "_One_ of the crazy ones?"

Sirius looked at her, searching for any left over resentment from their discussion in the library. He found none.

The rest of the group laughed. "I forget you don't know all of our sordid pasts," remarked Remus. "Sirius' is easy: it involves girls. Lots of them."

"Not that many!" Sirius groaned.

James leaned in close to Evie. "Too many," he staged whispered.

Everyone laughed at the angry glare Sirius gave James.

"And this one is stalking you?" Evie asked.

"Yes," Sirius grumbled. "I thought she was ok when we broke up."

"This is the fifth one who has gone crazy on you, Sirius." Lily, although amused, clearly disapproved of his playboy status.

Evie eyed her friend. "I can't imagine why." She grinned. "Who would want to shag a scruffy, malcontent hooligan like you?"

Sirius stared at her for a minute before hitting her over the head with a pillow. She promptly grabbed it and yanked it away, saying "We wouldn't want it falling in love with you after all."

Even Sirius had to laugh at this. When they had all recovered, Sirius turned the tables on Evie. "What about you? I'm sure plenty of blokes back home fell in love with you." He blushed, realizing what the question made it sound like.

But he need not have worried. Evie laughed. "Only three. Most guys are too frightened when a girl is stronger than they are. It threatens their masculinity I suppose."

"So I suppose the two that did were brave, caring souls?" James asked.

"The first was one of my best friends. He knew me for three years before finally getting the courage to ask me out." She laughed. "I almost felt bad when I broke it off four weeks later."

"And the next?" Sirius was genuinely curious and, though he would never admit it, slightly jealous of these unknown boys.

Evie lost her smile and looked down. "He was a friend of my older sisters, the twins, and terribly dreamy. Of course he was also a complete git."

"What happened?" James asked, earning a kick from Lily.

Evie shook her head. "It was great for a month- only we had to keep it quiet. He said he had a jealous ex." She smiled at Sirius. "Sneaking around is fun- until you realize that the guy you're with is also sneaking around with your Quidditch captain. Needless to say he got a good beating."

Sirius laughed and received a glare from Lily.

"What? You don't practice with her every day. If she says he got a beating…" He laughed again and shook his head.

Lily turned to Evie. "That's horrible."

To her surprise Evie just shrugged. "Not really. Considering that at the time I was completely infatuated with someone else it really wasn't a great relationship." She blushed. That someone else had been Teddy Lupin. She had gotten over it two years ago but it was still strange to be talking about it with his father.

Which is why she laughed when Remus asked if he was the third person. "Oh God no!"

"Then who was it?" Peter asked.

Evie sighed. "I don't see why you all even care. It's not like you'll ever meet any of them."

Lily shrugged. "It's fun to hear about stuff like this. And you're the first new thing to come along in a while. We all know too much about each other. You're new." She smiled at her new friend. "Besides, if you stop these boys will go off and plan another prank."

Evie laughed. "Oh alright." She frowned. "The last guy I was with…well he was a sweetheart actually. We dated for three months and then I broke it off." She shrugged. "That's really it."

"You break things off a lot, don't you?" asked James.

"I guess I do." Evie was feeling a bit uneasy with all the scrutiny.

"Why'd you break this one off?" Sirius couldn't help asking.

"The same reason I broke it off with the first guy. I got bored and then I got annoyed."

"Annoyed?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

Evie sighed. "They always wanted more attention. And they wanted me to stop being close with other guys. Which is tough when there's only two other girls on your Quidditch team and the only friend you really have off of it is a guy. They wanted me to agree with them and think they were brilliant. They wanted me to be more like other girls they'd dated before: soft and sweet and completely theirs." Evie shrugged. "I don't do that. I'm not sweet all the time and I am certainly not soft. And the only person I want to belong to is me."

"So you broke it off." James was looking curiously at their new friend.

"Yes! I stopped dating and that is that so can we please move on to something more interesting?"

Remus was about to say something when Sirius cut him off. "You stopped dating? Completely?"

Evie rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"Maybe you should try it mate," James laughed.

Sirius shook his head. "No way."

Everyone laughed at this. Then James went upstairs to find something and Remus suggested a game of wizard chess. Sirius immediately rose to the challenge and they went over to a table, Peter following close behind. Lily came to sit next to Evie.

"Sorry about that. They'll make you tell you're whole life story soon enough."

"I don't mind," said Evie honestly. "What I don't understand is how you're all so friendly to me. You don't even know me." She frowned, thinking of her conversation with Sirius earlier.

Lily smiled. "We know you're friendly and funny and smart and that's enough. Not to mention I am really glad to have a roommate who is not boy crazed. I love Kylie but even she focuses on it too much,"

Evie laughed. "I can see how that would be true. But you may not be boy crazy because you have a boy who loves you already."

Lily blushed. "No, I never have been. Besides, he doesn't love me."

Evie raised an eyebrow. "Remember how I said there were only two girls on my Quidditch team?"

Lily nodded.

"I was really good friends with one of them. Her name was Brooke and in our fourth year this guy Mark asked her out. She said no. She didn't want anything to do with guys at the moment. He wouldn't walk away and told her if she didn't think she could like him that way they could just be friends. She laughed and so they became friends. Two months later she asked him out. He said yes, of course, and they've been dating ever since. She didn't know him when he first asked her on a date so she said no. She turned him down. He didn't know her either but he knew something was there. He always says that he never gave up on her because he loved her."

"I don't get what this has to do with James and I."

"You said that James has been after you since the beginning- that he's always liked you and you don't know why. You've always thought he was a git until now. Now you're getting to know him and you like him." Evie sighed. "I've been here for little over a week and I can tell- he's like Mark. James loved you before he knew you and he always will love you. You needed to get to know him- the real him. But there is love there. For both of you. He looks at you the way Mark looks at Brooke."

Lily really blushed now. "You saw all that in a week?"

"Yes." Evie said it confidently but she did feel a twinge of guilt. She had seen all this but her confidence was more due to the fact that she knew they would end up together. They had to.

James came thundering down the stairs then, ruining the moment, but Evie knew her friend would think it over.

* * *

Evie had actually given Lily a lot to think over. The issue with James was, to tell the truth, never far from her mind. But that night had seen more than just her new friend's reassurance.

Lily had known that Evie had lost her entire family except an aunt who it seemed Evie really didn't know well. She knew that Evie had lost her home and been moved away from everything that she had known. What she had not realized, though now it was glaringly obvious, was that Evie had lost her friends too. And the worst part of that was that they were still alive. Death, even that of everyone you loved, had to be accepted and dealt with wherever you were. But being torn away from everything and knowing it was still there, just out of reach... To Lily that was unimaginable.

She thought of all the people she would have to leave if her parents died and she was forced to leave Hogwarts. Kylie and Remus were two of her dearest friends and Sirius and Peter, though she didn't always show it, were also very dear to her. Severus Snape, who she rarely mentioned anymore and whose name still made her cringe with regret, anger and sorrow, was already so far removed she did not know what difference it would make but she thought that it might be even worse than watching from a distance.

And James- Lily knew that losing him would be unbearable. He might make her want to tear her hair out and scream but he also made her want to smile and to laugh. She did not know what her life would be like if he was not there. Nor did she ever want to know.

It was this thought more than anything that anyone else had said that made her realize how deeply she really felt for him. She might not act upon it yet, but someday soon she would. For Lily knew that losing James was not an option she would live with.

She looked at her new friend, who was now curled up in the corner of the couch, staring into the fire, and silently thanked her. Evie's words had been comforting and they had made her think. Yet it was her plight that had made Lily come to terms with what exactly was at stake.

Lily turned to look at the boys who were still absorbed in the game of wizard chess, unaware of any of the thoughts going through either girl's head. Remus was studying the board carefully, Peter sitting next to him and trying to help. Sirius was lounging back in his chair, talking about something with James. They looked happy, content. Lily knew that all of them worried. She knew that they did have fears, though certainly they would try their best not to show them.

Looking back at Evie, she saw that she had fallen asleep. Quietly, Lily conjured a blanket and draped it over the girl. She saw now how pale and worn Evie looked. Even in sleep she seemed to be trying to solve some problem. Lily silently promised her friend that she wouldn't be sad forever. With the Marauders and Lily to help, how could she be?

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please do review: the more you review, the more feedback I get and the more I want to write!**


	9. In Which Many Things Are Denied

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alert-listed/read so far. I really appreciate all feedback! I know it doesn't seem like much to write a few words but please, if you have the time, do. It's always good to hear that hard work doesn't go unappreciated. ENJOY!**

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowling's.**

* * *

When Lily had turned away from her to stare into the fire, Evie had retreated into herself. Curling up in the corner of the couch she too had looked into the flames, although she was trying to forget everything, not resolve it. If she had known what Lily was thinking she would have cursed time once again for dropping her in this time, with these people.

She had told Lily about Brooke, who had been her best friend. But she had not told Lily that although she loved Brooke and would always be her friend, she was not her best friend. Evie had never had a best friend. As she and Lily sat in silence, she knew enough of friendships to know that theirs should not have been one lightly abandoned. Yet no matter how Evie looked at it, she was going to abandon it.

So much of what had happened in the last week had been inconsequential. She had sat in class and learned. She had eaten and slept and she had played Quidditch. Yet she could not separate inconsequential from profound. She had studied in the library with Remus, laughing at his quiet wit and thankful for his easy guidance. James and Sirius' antics had made her laugh more than she had in years. James' dedication to his team, his passion for Quidditch and for Lily had made her admire him as more than a silly prankster. Peter, so often ignored and neglected, had been the one ready with a reassuring comment when she felt she was about scream and who had, when he found her up late studying after already missing dinner, shown her where the kitchens were. Kylie always waited for her to walk down to the pitch and was full of helpful comments about the various teachers.

And Lily had been a friend, a real friend, such as Evie had never had. Back home Charlie and Brooke were the ones she ran to with a joke, a problem, or a story. Lily, who barely knew Evie, was this and more. She sat and worked on homework next to Evie, exchanging ideas and random musings. At lunch, she and Evie had talked about everything and anything and when they stopped talking, it wasn't awkward. She understood Evie and, unlike so many friends in the past, was able to finish the sentences that Evie herself didn't know how to complete. She was already becoming Evie's confidant.

All this made it so much more difficult for Evie to keep her secret. She knew Dumbledore was right about how she would be manipulated if the truth of her origins became known but this knowledge did not make it any easier.

There was also the problem of Sirius. Their interactions throughout the day had been so varied and the same was true of the past week. She did not like the fact that he knew anything about her conversation with Dumbledore or that he guessed at its sensitivity. She also did not like that they both seemed to be forming an attraction towards the other.

She had laughed when Sirius asked about her past experience with men. But she had not missed the implication or the blush. She hoped that it had been an accidental slip up but instinct told her that it came from something deeper than that.

This thought was one Evie did not want to face. To face it meant facing her growing attraction for him. She peaked up over the back of the couch. He was playing chess with Remus and laughing at something James had said. She had seen his love for his friends from the start. Even in this commonplace interaction she could tell they meant the world to him. And that was the problem with Sirius. He appeared to be a sardonic, dangerously handsome mischief-maker but if you looked close enough, he was kind and loyal. It only served to make him more damnably attractive.

Evie turned back to the fire and pulled her knees in closer to her chest. Whatever she was beginning to feel for Sirius could not go any further. Leaving behind friends was enough. Making a stronger attachment would only lead to trouble.

Trying to relax, Evie thought about home, envisioning the welcome she would receive. She wondered if any time would have passed. Maybe they wouldn't even know she'd been gone. It was thinking of the stories she would tell that she fell asleep.

* * *

"I don't get it. She was talking to Dumbledore in the library? In the open?" James was frowning, a puzzled expression on his face.

Sirius nodded. He had decided to tell his friends what he'd overheard. Remus, as usual, was pondering in silence. Peter had fallen into silence as well, though Sirius did not think he was doing any thinking.

"I don't get it. What did he say again?"

"It sounded like something she had was 'an opportunity to gain advantage.' It didn't make much sense but he was definitely warning her about something." Sirius frowned. "What could any of us have that could present an advantage to anyone? I'm assuming he meant with the war, but how?"

Remus shook his head. "I don't know Sirius but I think you should leave it alone. She obviously isn't going to tell you."

"She did say she would tell him if she wanted to tell him," James pointed out.

"So what is he going to do? Get her to trust him? Worm his way into her life just to find out what makes her life dangerous?" Remus snorted. "Even Sirius isn't so low."

Sirius shook his head. "Remus is right, I wouldn't do that. But spying on her might solve some of the riddle."

"This is going to end in disaster," Remus muttered under his breath.

"We could use my cloak. Maybe look in her room…" James was excited by the prospect of a new project.

Remus laughed. "In your quest for answers you're forgetting something."

Peter joined in. "Even I know not to try to go in the girls' dormitory."

Sirius and James exchanged glances. They had been the first ones in their year to discover the slide that the girls' stairs transformed into when any of the male sex tried to enter. Of course, there were other ways to get into the girls' rooms but none that made sneaking around very easy.

"Then we'll just watch her. She's bound to slip up at some point." Sirius glanced over at the couch. Lily had covered a sleeping Evie with a blanket. "Nobody's perfect. The only people who can keep big secrets like that completely are Untouchables and she isn't exactly one of them."

Remus looked at his friend curiously. Sirius was still gazing at Evie and underneath the determination Remus saw in his friend's face he also caught a glimpse of something tender. Remus shook his head and brushed the thought away. He was imaging it. Sirius didn't have tender feelings for girls, certainly not fiery, opinionated ones like Evie.

As though he had read his mind, Sirius switched to a new topic. "Should I ask Lara Milner to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?"

James started. "Absolutely not. Do you want to ruin our team?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's just one date."

"One date turns into a week or maybe, and I mean maybe, two of dating and then you break up with her and boom! There goes my team."

"Where goes your team?" Lily had stood and ventured over to the table.

"Boom!" James clapped his hands together. "Sirius wants to date Lara."

A groan came from the couch. "You've got to be kidding me." James' clap had awakened Evie.

"What?" Sirius held up his hands. "It's just a date."

"No," Evie shook her head. "It's goodbye Chaser, goodbye Quidditch cup, goodbye beating Slytherin even once."

"See? I'm right." James poked Sirius. "No dating Lara. At least not until the season is over."

Sirius was distracted. Evie had been there for a week. Her attachment to the team, to winning: this was understandable. Quidditch players were competitive and he had noticed Evie was particularly so. But the Slytherin rivalry was something less universal. Hatred of Slytherin did not simply arrive once someone was sorted into Gryffindor, contrary to popular belief. It was something you learned, something ingrained after a month or so. Yet Evie spoke of it naturally. She spoke as though she had been at Hogwarts for seven years and needing to beat Slytherin was as natural as breathing.

"Sirius? Did you hear me?" James put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know you'll have no problem finding someone else to fool around with."

Sirius nodded, trying to refocus on the conversation.

"I'm going to go up," said Remus, standing and closing the unfinished game of chess.

Peter yawned loudly. "Me too."

James nodded. "It's late and I want to fly tomorrow morning."

Evie stood and stretched. "Maybe we can toss a ball around or something James. As long as we play in the early part of the day, I'm in. We're going to Hogsmeade tomorrow, right Lily?"

Lily covered a yawn and nodded. "I better get some sleep otherwise I won't be doing anything."

They all started to head towards the stairs. The common room was empty, the rest of the house having gone to bed already. Evie turned and noticed that Sirius was still staring into the dying fire.

"Sirius? You coming?" James turned too, wondering what his friend was worrying about.

"In a minute." Sirius didn't even look up at his friend.

James shook his head and continued up the stairs. Whatever his friend was thinking about he was sure he'd know soon enough.

Evie watched James go and then walked back down the stairs to stand by Sirius. "You alright?"

"I've got a lot to think about."

Evie nodded. "Sorry we all jumped down your throat about Lara. But you must understand somewhat, right? " Sirius was silent. "Everyone wants to win and trust me, dating anyone within a team is asking for trouble."

Sirius shook his head. "I understand why they care. I don't understand why the hell you would."

Evie laughed. "Sirius, I know I've only been here a week but I thought you would have realized by now that I'm ridiculously competitive."

He turned on her. "I'd have to be a complete idiot to not know that. I just don't understand why you're focused on winning against Slytherin."

"What?!"

"You said that, before. And don't try to deny it. I heard you."

Evie shook her head slowly. "It doesn't mean anything more when I say it than when any of you say it."

"Really? Because I think it does. I think you know more than you let on. I overheard some of what Dumbledore said to you. He was warning you, because of something you knew."

The frightened look Evie gave Sirius startled him momentarily. "What exactly did you hear?" she asked in a whisper.

"I thought it wasn't supposed to be important." Sirius shrugged.

"Sirius…"

"I didn't think you wanted to talk about it." He studied her closely. She did not look angry. In fact, if he hadn't known her better he would think she was readying herself for a blow. "Well if it does matter, I guess I can tell you…"

Evie just nodded and Sirius was surprised by the lack of a sarcastic comment.

"He was talking about something rare- something that had to do with the Ministry. And he told you to be careful because people might want to use you." Sirius shrugged. "It sounded like a warning."

"That's all you heard?" Evie asked warily.

"I think so. Oh and you said something about going home."

Evie sighed. The look of relief on her face was obvious. She looked at him almost gratefully.

Sirius couldn't help but break the moment. "What else was I not supposed to hear?"

He expected her to yell at him or storm away. Yet Evie just rounded the couch and sat down, cradling her head in her hands. Sirius was startled and then he saw her shoulders start to shake. Evie was crying. Sirius watched her and felt the faint stirrings of something like compassion.

It was a strange emotion, for Sirius Black was not one who comforted. He did not console, he did not rub backs, and he certainly would have hated anyone who had done so to him. James, Peter, and Remus were the only ones he had ever comforted. Remus, he knew from perhaps too much experience, tried to shake off any concern unless you forced him to listen. Peter- well perhaps that had been a lie. Sirius had never attempted to comfort Peter. He didn't understand the boy enough to comfort him. And the only thing James had ever needed comfort over was Lily and Sirius knew that then all he really needed was someone to listen to his ranting.

Girls, especially crying girls, had never been something he wanted to deal with. Which didn't explain why he ended up sitting next to Evie, awkwardly patting her back. He felt her startle at the contact, but it was obvious to him that whatever emotion she was venting was too much for even pride to control.

After a bit, Sirius began to wonder when she would run out. Her soft sobs were slowing down and, as he removed his hand, she looked up at him. His wary expression startled a smile out of her.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she rubbed her eyes and then shook out her hair.

Sirius just nodded. Evie looked at him thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for the thoughtful type."

It was Sirius' turn to smile. "You would be right- usually."

"I am sorry about that." Evie grinned ruefully. "I don't cry like that if I can help it."

Sirius's curiosity got the better of him again. "What is it that made you cry?"

Evie laughed softly. "Life."

"_Life?_" repeated Sirius scornfully.

Evie shook her head. "It's something you wouldn't understand."

"Maybe I would if you told me."

Evie looked at him. "You want me to tell you about whatever it is that has Dumbledore issuing warnings to me in the library? You want in on a dangerous secret like that?"

Sirius was taken aback. "Isn't that what I've been asking?"

"Do you trust Dumbledore?"

"Of course." Sirius' response was a knee jerk one. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Everything." Evie locked eyes with Sirius. "You trust him and yet, even after knowing that he has been warning me against being used, you still want me to ignore his warnings and tell you?"

Sirius knew that Evie's logic made sense. That didn't mean he liked it. "He wasn't talking about me."

Evie arched an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"Because I am one of the good ones."

Instead of laughing, as he had expected her to, Evie smiled sadly and nodded. "Yes, I do believe that."

"Then tell me what it is!" Sirius was frustrated now. She couldn't just keep dropping hints and not expect him to be curious.

But this time Evie's no was emphatic. "I can't. I won't and I can't." She looked at him almost mournfully. "I'm sorry. I wish I could. Really, Sirius, I do. You've been nothing but a friend to me since I fell into your dormitory." She shook her head again. "But I can't. It isn't something I can tell."

Sirius stared angrily into the flames, not responding.

She laid a hand on his arm. "I really am sorry. Just…please just keep this between us, alright Sirius?"

This request, based in his mind on nothing but empty apologies, was the last straw. He stood up, fists clenched at his side. "You can't just ask me to lie to my friends and keep a secret from them. What?" He was bellowing down at her now. "You expect to waltz in here and be everyone's best friend? It doesn't work like that. We're not friends. As far as I'm concerned, we will never be friends! You're lying left and right and keeping secrets and that's not how friendships work. Not in my book. You can't pretend to trust me and enjoy my company and take comfort from me and then just shut me out. Friends don't do that." Sirius shook his head. He knew that most of what he was saying was hurtful and exaggerated but he could not stop. "You are not my friend."

For a moment, Evie looked stricken. Then her expression hardened and she pressed her lips into a thin line. She stood slowly and faced Sirius. "I suppose you're right." Her voice was cool and crisp. There was none of her usual laughing tone or the impassioned anger from earlier that day in it. All the softness of the moment before was gone. "We're not friends. How could we ever be friends? You are a foolish, self-righteous _child_ absolutely unaware of reality.

"You act entitled and do not," she gave him a fierce look. "Do not even think of saying that you are just a poor, forsaken child and you have never had any family to love you. You may not be treated well by your real family but you act like a spoiled brat within the one you have now. You expect everything to come to you upon a silver platter: women, friends, even skill." Evie dropped her voice. "I am glad we are not friends. Who would want to be friends with someone so inconsiderate that he cannot understand that something may not be within his rights to know? Who would want to be friends with someone as selfish as you?"

She held his gaze for a moment before turning and walking slowly up the stairs. Sirius watched her go, wondering all the while how someone he barely knew could reduce him to such a degree. Every cold, hard word had hit him like a punch. He had not even sensed any anger in Evie. It was like she had turned every bright light that her person possessed off and turned to unmoving stone.

He sank back onto the couch, wondering how long he would regret starting that fight. He had laughed in the face of an angry McGonagall on more than one occasion and he had even been able to brush off the hundreds of hurtful comments from his own mother. When his father had started in on him after he had announced he was leaving, Sirius had yelled right back. But Evie's well-placed words had somehow cut him to the core.

Sirius had underestimated her strength that first night and she had proved time and time again that he had been wrong. But he had thought, since then, that he was through underestimating her. She was courageous to the point of recklessness on the field and, although she had proved her claim that she was a failure at Transfiguration, she was brilliant in every other class. She never seemed to have a shortage of witticisms or of warm smiles. Sirius did not doubt that someday she would make an incredible healer. He had even respected her warning this morning about not being easy to break.

And yet, when he had started to yell at her tonight he had assumed that, if she were able to respond to his words at all, it would be with the same impatient anger he had seen earlier. Instead Evie had transformed into something towering and frighteningly cold.

Sirius leaned back into the couch running his hands through his hair. One thing was for sure: Evelyn Montgomery was not the type of girl you messed with upon a whim.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please do review: the more you review, the more feedback I want to write!**


	10. Repercussions and Excursions

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowlings**

When Sirius awoke the next morning, it was because his roommate had poured a cup of water on his face. James was already dressed and ready to go out to the pitch. Although Sirius found his friend's self satisfied grin irritating he didn't waste anytime picking a fight. Instead he changed quickly into warm clothing and followed James outside.

It was not until they came upon a lone figure walking towards the pitch that the events of last night came back to him. Evie was dressed warm as well, a red cap pulled down over her ears. Her hair was escaping from the tight braids she had tried to tame it with and her nose was red from the brisk wind.

She said a quiet hello to James and ignored Sirius completely, walking on in silence. Sirius watched her face for any sign of remorse but he only saw a muted version of the cold face he had seen last night.

When they reached the pitch Lara and Alexander Styce were already there.

"Tommy isn't coming." Styce informed James.

"Neither is Kylie," Evie was attempting to rebraid her hair. "She muttered something about sleep and that potions essay to me when I tried to wake her."

James nodded and muttered something about dedication and lack of respect.

Sirius was trying hard to ignore the hopeful, warm looks Lara was shooting his way. The 5th year had long, straight brown hair and lovely green eyes. Her cheeks were flushed red today with the cold. She looked beautiful and she obviously knew it. Sirius had always flirted with her, thinking it nothing more than harmless fun. He was well aware that she was in all likelihood only on the team because he was.

"Drat it!" Sirius looked over at Evie. Both of her braids had escaped their bands and her hat had been pulled off. Her long curly hair was now loose, wildly blowing in the wind. The early morning sunlight picked up the deep reds in the auburn color.

Chasing after her escaping hat, Evie looked at Sirius briefly. Her eyes, always somewhat treacherous to him, were particularly bright today. Before he could get lost in them once more, Sirius turned to Lara and asked her to accompany him to Hogsmeade later that day.

* * *

By the time Evie made it back up to the castle, it was noon and she was tired and confused. James had drilled them over and over again. Their first game was less than three weeks away and it was obvious James wanted to win. Evie just considered it lucky that he hadn't overheard Sirius asking Lara out. She didn't like how to think how angry he would be when he found out, or how much of that anger would be poured into running his team into the ground.

Lily was in the common room when she got back, working on the Potions essay with Kylie.

"Finally! I thought you'd never get back." Lily was smiling despite her angry tone. She knew how James could be.

"Hey! Let me just take a shower and then we can go down to the village." Evie paused before she went to their room. "Oh, and Kylie? You might want to disappear before James gets back. I have a feeling he will be on the warpath."

"What about? He's not too upset I wasn't there right? I thought it wasn't mandatory."

Evie shook her head. "He won't be angry at you." She grimaced. "Sirius asked Lara out."

"What?!" Both girls exclaimed.

Evie left them debating over whether Sirius was suicidal or just stupid. She didn't want to talk about that boy any more.

She showered quickly and, rifling through her modest collection of clothing, pulled out a black wool skirt and a warm looking green turtleneck sweater. Not bothering to dry or even comb her messy hair she tied it up in a bun, grabbed her coat, and went downstairs. As she had expected, James was pacing back in forth in front of one of the fires, pulling his hand through his hair repeatedly and ranting to Remus, most likely about Sirius. Kylie had disappeared.

"Ready?" Evie asked Lily, who was putting the finishing touches on her essay.

Lily sighed. "It could be better, but yeah, I suppose so."

Evie smiled. "I bet it's perfect."

"You finished yours yesterday?" Lily asked as they exited the common room and headed down to Hogsmeade.

"Yup. Was that all you had left to work on?"

Lily nodded. "We can enjoy the rest of the day. I'm so glad I get to show you around."

Evie smiled and nodded. She had almost forgotten that she was not supposed to know anything about Hogsmeade. She felt guilty, deceiving Lily again and Sirius' remarks on her lies came back.

Lily seemed to sense what she was thinking. "Why do you think Sirus asked Lara out? I thought he agreed with you and James last night?"

Evie shrugged. "I have no idea," she replied and it was the truth. She was as confused as Lily about his behavior. His anger towards her should have nothing to with James or the team. Yet he had looked angry when he had turned away from her and asked Lara to go on a date.

"Now James will be in a mood until Sirius apologizes." Lily shook her head. "I don't get why Sirius would do that."

"Let's just not talk about it anymore, okay?" Evie spoke more harshly than she had intended. She smiled at Lily, hoping to cover it up. "I just want to enjoy today. Not think about how much longer James is going to make practice now that he's angry."

Lily nodded and linked arms with Evie. "We're almost to the village. Where do you think you want to go first?"

"What is there?"

"Well…" Lily launched into a description of all the different stores but Evie was distracted. They had reached the main street and a couple was walking towards them.

Sirius had his arm slung over Lara's shoulders and she was laughing at something he had just said. His hair was in careful disarray and he had a 'devil-may-care' grin on his face.

Evie did not appreciate the way her heartbeat quickened at the sight of him. She did not like that her thoughts began to race. This was not supposed to happen. It was too much like one of those ridiculous muggle romance novels she and Julie had found one year when they were on vacation.

"Evie?" Lily interrupted her thoughts. She was obviously waiting for a response to some question.

"Let's just go to the Three Broomsticks." Evie tore her eyes away from Sirius, who was now kissing Lara, and smiled at her friend. "I could use something warm to drink."

Luckily she had answered the right question. Lily smiled back and led the way to the pub. Evie did not even allow herself one look back. If she had, she might have caught the look Sirius gave her as she walked away and the jealous glare Lara pointed her way when she saw her date's expression.

* * *

Four hours later Evie and Lily tramped back up to the castle with their arms linked, broad smiles on both their faces. Neither had bought anything (Evie felt guilty using any of the money Dumbledore had given her) but the day had been a success nonetheless. Evie had enjoyed herself, at least when she forgot to be worried about time and the events of last night.

Her brow furrowed at the thought of the previous evening. Sirius had not been so wrong to assume that the form of her anger would likely be as heated as his own. In most circumstances it would have been. Only upon rare occasions did her anger suddenly turn cold. By the time she had reached her bed, Evie was already regretting her unfeeling words.

Whether he realized it or not, Sirius' words had struck a chord with her. She hated to keep secrets from her friends. She was lying to them all and if she had been on the other side of the situation she would have been just as angry as Sirius was, if not more. Her words had been harsh, perhaps too harsh.

A small part of her wondered if she wouldn't be glad for the rift this had already caused. After this morning, she was sure Sirius would not be talking to her as a friend anytime in the near future. Maybe, in the end, it would be for the best.

But as she climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor dormitory, the startled, hurt look on Sirius' face rose in her mind, tormenting her, and she knew that she would never forgive herself if she left this time without healing that wound.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry**** this chapter is short/slightly choppy. For some reason I just couldn't get it to sound right no matter how I edited and added and tweaked. However, it does introduce a lot that will be important in the next chapter (not to mention I couldn't leave last chapter's fight alone until you got some of Evie's perspective) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW. I really do appreciate all feedback, especially on chapters like this one. **


	11. Friends, Gold and Silver

DISLCLAIMER:** I do not own anything you recognize as J.K. Rowlings. The rest, however, is mine.**

**Sorry this took so long to get out! Things have been crazy in my life recently and I haven't had much time for this.**

**Anyway, ENJOY!**

* * *

The next morning breakfast was a quiet affair. James was not speaking to Sirius who in turn would not speak to Evie. Evie was not speaking much anyway, focusing on swallowing every last bit of her bacon and eggs. Remus and Lily viewed the situation with their typical mix of amusement and frustration. Evie overheard Remus tell Peter that James and Sirius at least would be talking by tomorrow afternoon, if not sooner.

Sirius was ignoring the stony silence of his best friend and attempting to do the same with the more passive yet somehow more obviously silent Evie. He sat close next to Lara, so close he could smell her shampoo. Their date had gone well, though a voice in the back of his mind was whispering that James had been right and it wouldn't last long enough to make it worth it. Still, he did like Lara. She was smarter than a lot of girls he'd dated, and funnier too. He didn't know if she would be able to take being pushed in the lake though.

He shook his head at that thought. What did it matter? He doubted he would find himself pushing her in any lakes or throwing grass at her. He snuck a glance at Evie. She was frowning at her empty plate and looked as though she hadn't gotten much sleep. He turned back to Lara, satisfied. It seemed appropriate that someone with secrets would stay up late at night. It served her right.

Remus did not miss the glare Sirius gave Evie. His friend's suspicions of the girl might be justified but his attitude did not seem deserved. Perhaps she was some sort of powerful witch. Remus didn't see that. Not when she had to concentrate so hard to catch up with some of her spells, particularly those that protected her from Dark magic. Any witch or wizard who had a great role to play in the growing war would surely know those spells. He knew most of his friends had already studied much of the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. Evie didn't know that much.

Realizing the time with these thoughts, he stood. Evie looked up at him. "Headed to class, Remus?"

He nodded and she stood as well. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." He smiled and they walked towards the exit, neither missing the glare coming from Sirius.

"I don't know why he's so upset," Evie muttered.

"Who?" Remus asked, though he knew very well who she was referring to.

"Oh, just," Evie blushed. "I don't know if I should really talk about it with you."

Remus smiled. "You mean the fact that Sirius is obviously angry with you?"

She looked up at him. "So you've noticed?"

He chuckled. "Evie, you'd have to be blind not to notice. The problem with Sirius is usually getting him to shut up, not the opposite."

"I noticed that." She frowned. "It's not my fault though. At least I don't know why it should be."

"He doesn't trust you." Remus stated this as a fact, not a question.

Evie did not respond, staring resolutely at the ground.

Remus stopped and pulled her to a halt as well. "Evie, look, whatever's going on between you and Sirius…I want you to know you can talk to me."

She looked up at him, wary. "Can I? Or will you just report back to him? No," she held up her hand to stop him from speaking. "Don't answer that. You say he doesn't trust me. Do you?"

Remus sighed. "You know he told us."

Evie shrugged. "I figured as much."

"He told us that he overheard you and Dumbledore and that he assumes that for some reason you're connected to the war. He told us Dumbledore was warning you to be careful of people."

Evie sighed. "And now I suppose all of you will be pestering me about that?"

Remus smiled. "James will. Sirius might if he ever starts talking to you again. Peter is probably too frightened of you to try."

"And you?"

Remus shook his head. "The one thing Sirius is sure of hearing is Dumbledore warning you not to talk, to be careful. I'm no idiot. When Dumbledore warns someone, it's for a good reason. And he obviously trusts you. So I do too."

Evie studied Remus for a moment before smiling. "I don't deserve friends like you."

"Sure you do." He paused. "Evie, you know James will try to warn Lily about you."

Evie looked distressed. "So I'll lose her too?"

"I doubt it. Most likely they'll get in one of their completely pointless fights over it and she'll ask you about it once, but I doubt she would ditch you based on Sirius's assumptions."

They had begun to walk down the hall again, talking as they went. Both were so absorbed in their conversation that Sirius's exclamation startled them completely.

"What assumptions are these, Moony?" Sirius came walking u behind them, obviously upset. "You're fraternizing with the enemy now?"

"Don't you think that's a bit extreme Sirius?" Remus was exasperated.

"Not at all. I thought I made it clear we couldn't trust her. Obviously you weren't listening."

"You made it clear that you _thought_ we couldn't trust her. I am simply being rational."

"Really or are you just hitting on a pretty girl? One who doesn't think you're odd yet?"

Remus went pale. "Sirius…" he said warningly.

Evie saved him from continuing, stepping in between the two. "Stop it! I don't care if you hate me. I don't care if you want me dead. But Remus is my friend and I thought he was yours too. Don't you dare use him as an excuse not to talk to me. He doesn't deserve it."

Sirius looked at her, a strange feeling creeping in among the anger. He tried to ignore it, talking around her. "She says it now Remus, but just wait. Soon enough you'll want your real friends back." He saw the look of hurt flash across his friend's face before the world went starry and white.

Evie had slapped him, so hard she left a vivid red handprint. Turning away from his shocked face she linked arms with Remus and pulled him past Sirius.

"Come on, we're going to be late."

* * *

Lunch wasn't much different from breakfast, except that now no one was talking. The school was buzzing about how the new girl had slapped Sirius Black. Evie didn't remember having any witnesses but the smiles she was receiving from the guys and the glares from the girls seemed to confirm that news had gotten out.

A smaller contingent was talking about the latest fight between James Potter and his perennial conquest, Lily Evans. While much more commonplace and absolutely lacking in slaps, people were whispering that it had been James who walked away first, not Lily.

At the Marauders table, two clear factions had formed. James may not have been speaking to his best friend, but he trusted him nonetheless. Peter sat with them, obviously uneasy with the loaded silence. A little farther down, Lily sat with Evie, not even trying to make conversation. It was obvious she had been crying but the look on her face was defiant. Remus had looked anxiously between the two groups until a glare from Sirius and a soft smile from Evie had made his choice for him.

Neither groups talked much, oblivious to the noise around them and the fact that even some professors at the high table were looking at the typically rowdy group with consternation.

Evie was trying diligently not to look over at the other group. She wasn't failing too miserably but the fact remained that even when she was ignoring them she still felt guilty for being the cause of the separation. Last week she had seen how close they were. And now a rift was growing between them. Lily, despite her brave facade, was obviously upset. Remus was staring into space, seemingly somewhat lost in this new formation.

She knew that the only reason things were this way was the fight between her and Sirius. She sighed and took a sip of water. Trying to shake these thoughts from her head were obviously pointless, at least when nothing else was there to fill it. She looked at the time and was relieved to see that the time for class was almost here. Standing and walking away from the table without a word to either faction, she headed to class, happy in her knowledge that an afternoon of Potions and Herbology would sufficiently crowd her mind.

* * *

Dinner saw few changes: both factions remained, the rift considerably larger after an entire afternoon without words. Also, Remus was missing from the table altogether, a development both sides found troubling.

After dinner, Evie and Lily walked right through the common area and up to their room. They sat with Kylie for a while, patiently doing homework, but as the night wore on the other girl grew uncomfortable in the silence and went downstairs.

"Evie? Can I ask you something?" Lily was sitting cross-legged across from Evie on the floor of their room. There was no one else in the room and the girls were now quietly reading Lily's old copies of the _Daily Prophet_ and _Witch Weekly, _homework finished for the night.

"Sure." Evie's response was automatic. She did not stop to consider what Lily's question could possibly be. She was preoccupied by an article about the suspected presence of spies in the ministry that she had found tucked in one of the back pages of the _Prophet_.

Lily cleared her throat nervously and Evie looked up at her, noticing now the worried expression on her friend's face.

"Are you telling the truth…about where you're from and everything?"

The question blind-sided Evie. She stared at her friend for a moment, mouth agape.

"It's just…James said that Sirius overheard Dumbledore saying something to you and that they thought maybe you weren't," Lily continued. "Weren't telling the truth, I mean."

Evie could not speak. She had known this was coming and still, she was unprepared.

Lily was still waiting for a response. "Evie I like you. I want to like you. But if I can't trust you…James said I can't trust you."

These last words broke Evie from her silence. "Lily…please. You can trust me."

"Can I?"

Evie looked at her new friend. She did not want to lie again. Yet what other option did she have? She could not tell Lily the truth.

Lily was still waiting for a response and Evie could see by the look in her eyes that the longer she hesitated, the less Lily would believe her protestations. Whatever they might be,

"Lily, I can't tell you." It was with surprise that Evie heard herself admit to the truth. "Where I'm from…you're right, it's not true." She closed her eyes, unwilling to see this friendship fall apart. "I can't tell you the truth. I'm sorry. I'd promise you can still trust me, but I don't think you're going to want to anymore."

Not for the last time did Evie curse the Department of Mysteries. This wasn't fair! She felt like a petulant child whining over someone else getting a new toy. It wasn't the same, not really, but it seemed like it was.

She flinched when arms encircled her and opened her eyes. Lily was hugging her. Evie pulled back, wiping away a tear she had not noticed crying.

"Lily?"

The other girl laughed. "I'm sorry. I just…is it strange to say I'm glad?" Lily frowned and shook her head. "I thought I'd be angry that you'd been lying to me but instead I'm just glad you're not anymore."

Evie cut Lily off. "I still can't tell you the truth."

Lily waved her away. "Details. You didn't try to cover up your lies with more lies."

"You're not going to try and pry it out of me?" Evie looked at Lily curiously, wondering if the day had any more surprises in store.

Lily grinned in what could only be described as an evil manner. "Of course I will. But I understand that some things…they aren't ours to tell. I won't push you too hard." She laughed at Evie's expression. "Don't look so surprised. We're friends, aren't we?"

Evie didn't know what to say anymore, so she settled for a nod.

"Can I ask just one more question?"

Again, Evie nodded.

"Dumbledore, he knows the secret?"

"Yes," Evie smiled at her friend now. Perhaps Remus had been right. Maybe Lily could also see sense where Sirius could not.

It was Lily's turn to nod. "If he trusts you, so do I."

The simplicity of the statement widened Evie's smile. "Thank you. You have no idea…just, thank you, Lily."

Lily returned her smile and hugged her again. "What did you expect? If you tell the others the same thing, none of them will be able to hold a grudge."

Evie frowned. "I'm not so sure that's true." She hesitated. "Lily, when did James tell you that he thought I was keeping a secret?"

"Right before we went down to dinner, when you were talking to Remus. Why?"

"How did he tell you?"

Lily paused. "He was still upset about the whole Lara and Sirius debacle and he was ranting about Sirius and about how he couldn't trust anyone. And then I reminded him that Sirius was his friend, of course he could trust him." Lily sighed. "Then he said he knew all that but really…and he got all serious and he told me maybe we didn't know our friends after all." Lily looked at Evie dolefully. "Then he told me what Sirius had said. But I'm sure if you explain or let me explain…"

Evie cut in. "It's not James I'm worried about."

Comprehension dawned on Lily's face. "Sirius?"

Evie nodded and bit her lip. "I doubt he'll let any of them trust me in peace."

"You fought?"

Evie sighed. "James told you that Sirius overheard me speaking to Dumbledore right?"

Lily nodded.

"Well yesterday I told him I wasn't going to tell him anything, that he should just leave it alone. But then last night after everyone else went up he started going off on me about how I knew more than I should and how I was lying to you all." Evie gulped. "I never wanted to lie, Lily. You have to believe that."

Lily patted her friend's hand companionably.

Evie shook out her hair and continued. "What he said, well it was true, but it made me angry. I said things I shouldn't have. We both did."

"I'm sure it will blow over soon enough."

"I don't think so. He won't trust me Lily. For some reason…I just, I don't think he ever will."

"Well James will," Lily said emphatically. "I'll see to that. And Remus already does."

Evie nodded. Of Remus she had no doubt. James, on the other hand…

"I'm the reason you to fought, aren't I?"

Lily couldn't hide from the truth of that statement. "It was worth it, trust me in that. And he'll come around. He's so upset with Sirius as it is he's probably looking for a good excuse to annoy him further."

"I don't want to cause more trouble. You're all already split up over me."

Lily shook her head, bemused. "It will take a lot more than conflict over a new friend to split this group up." She smiled. "Besides, it's a good change in pace. I like to see those boys on their toes."

Evie laughed. "How did I end up with a friend like you so easily?"

"Fate," Lily mock-whispered and laughed. "We just get along well, I suppose."

Evie smiled. "Yes, I suppose we do." She shook her head. "If only Dumbledore hadn't…" She sighed.

Lily frowned. "If only Dumbledore hadn't what?"

Evie shook her head again. "I just wish I could tell you. But I can't."

"He must have had good reason to tell you not to. What I don't know."

"Trust. It all goes back to that."

"You don't trust us?"

Evie laughed. "I do, actually. At least as much as anyone can trust right now. I just think he was worried that you couldn't trust anyone. And well, with what I know, he might be right."

"You mean the war? James said something about that. But Evie, none of us would betray you. We're friends." Lily frowned. "And honestly, I don't understand. You didn't know half the things that were going on when you first got here. And that was last week! Were you just playing stupid?"

Evie looked away. Lily was right. If you looked at the immediate, she knew nothing. No particulars at least. But there were other things, bigger things. She had always discounted History of Magic as boring. You might know the facts but really the interesting part was the spells and the magic. She only knew as much as she did because she had wanted good O.W.L.s. Now she wished she had cared a little less. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she had.

"I wasn't playing. But Lily…I can't talk about it." Evie shook her head and sighed. "No matter how much I wish I could."

Lily nodded sympathetically and patted her on the arm. "You should get some sleep. We both should."

Evie laughed harshly. "Yeah, not only is James going to ground me into the dirt tomorrow at practice, half the school's population is out for my blood for slapping Sirius."

Lily laughed. "Was it worth it?"

Evie remembered the shocked look on his face and the awed, thankful one on Remus's and nodded. "Definitely."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this latest installment! Please REVIEW and let me know what you think!!!!**


	12. Missing and Misplaced

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowlings'.**

**Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews and support! This speedy update is thanks to a wonderful snowstorm that kept me trapped inside all day, which actually rocks! Hope you enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

The next day began with a lesson in Charms and throughout the class the Marauders, Evie, and Lily looked towards Remus' empty spot with concern. The Marauders quickly realized what the next day was and grew more and more anxious as class went on.

October 26th was circled on all of their calendars in red ink, just the same as every other full moon. They had been so wrapped up in their own petty problems they had ignored the passing of days. Poor Remus was most likely stuck in the hospital wing already, growing weaker and weaker as the full moon grew close.

Lily had, in her third year, begun to put together the mysterious absences of her friend. She too understood what the date meant. She knew that in a few days Remus would return, withdrawn and paler than ever.

Evie knew none of this. Lily was firm in her belief that secrets should be told by those they belonged to and would say nothing. So Evie looked at Remus' empty chair during Charms, waited for her friend at lunch, then watched again in Defense against the Dark Arts.

She missed him, and was surprised to realize it. Not even two weeks and she missed a friend when he was gone for a day. Leaving class, she parted ways with Lily and headed for the hospital wing, brow furrowed at the realization that she was growing too close, too fast.

She was surprised when she ran straight into James and Sirius outside of the double doors to the wing. Sirius bit back a question when he saw her and turned away, tugging at the locked door again. It seemed that Remus had been right and the boys were speaking once more. James gave her a cold look.

"What are you doing here?" His tone was harsh and removed.

Evie had expected this, but even so she found herself taken aback. As quick as friendship had been, this cold, derisive attitude was faster.

She was saved from answering when Madame Pomfrey, obviously annoyed that someone was trying to break into her wing, stuck her head out of the door.

"Just what do you two think you're doing? Didn't I already say no visitors?" She looked between the boys fiercely and noticed Evie standing uncomfortably in the background. "Oh, Evelyn dear! I had nearly forgotten all about our lesson! Come in, come in." She pulled Evie past the two boys, smiling brightly. "I think you'll find yourself of great use today. Head on in and change your robes now."

"Oy! What's this? She gets to go in and not us?" Sirius was enraged. Remus was obviously in there, probably in pain, and Evie got to just waltz in?

"Miss Montgomery is an incredibly gifted Healer and has junior accreditation, something I am sure that neither of you possess. She is here for _lessons_, not to disturb the peace." She gave them a sympathetic look. "I know you want to see your friend. He's doing fine and I'm sure you'll be able to see him soon."

With that, she shut the door firmly in their faces, causing Sirius to give it a vicious kick.

"Gifted Healer? Huh!" He muttered. "Nosy, spying, untrustworthy…"

James cut him off before he could curse Evie further. "Remus isn't going to like her being in there."

Sirius shook his head. "Who knows? Maybe he will. They're best friend now aren't they?" He snorted. "She swoops in here and just takes everything."

"Woah, Padfoot, take a breather man. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Sirius turned to his best friend. "Not that bad? So you don't mind that she's the reason that Lily's not talking to you, that Remus would barely look in our direction?"

James rolled his eyes. "Lily is always not talking to me for some reason or another, Sirius, you know that."

"Not like this. She usually yells at you more, everyone knows that. And Remus, well he's just absolutely _besotted_ with her, isn't he?"

James laughed. "You just used the word besotted, mate. What the hell has gotten into you?"

"She has! She's infuriating, twisting everything and everyone, all like it's some big game! Ever since she got here, she's been nothing but trouble. I'm telling you James," He shook a finger at him emphatically. "That girl is nothing but trouble."

The girl in question chose that moment to open the door again, the look on her face letting them know she had heard every word of Sirius' tirade.

"Remus wants to see you. He's tired and Madame Pomfrey didn't want to let you in, but I convinced her that you would be quiet and respectful and leave when she told you to."

Both boys stared at her, rendered speechless.

"Well, come on then," she sighed. "I didn't buy you _that_ much time."

At this they both rushed through the door and right past her, though James at least shot her a thankful glance. She sighed again and pushed the doors closed, heading to one of the side rooms to get to work on classifying herbs and mixing medicines. She didn't want to be anywhere near this conversation.

* * *

The boys approached Remus' bedside. He was looking wan as usual, the night to come showing on his face. There was something else though, a look on his face that neither of them could fully understand in their typically even-tempered friend.

It was anger and Remus was giving them the full brunt of it.

"Hey mate," James cleared his throat nervously.

"Don't mate me," Remus growled back. "Right now you're very lucky it isn't tomorrow already. I can barely keep myself from tearing out your throats now, let alone keep Moony from doing it."

Sirius shifted his weight nervously. "Look, Remus, about what I said…"

"No. You don't get to apologize and say it's okay. You insulted me, yes. Normally I would let it go with an apology. But you also hurt Evie, who, no matter what you say, is a friend."

Sirius, his own anger returning, snorted.

"You find that funny Sirius?" Remus gave him a stern glare. "Because I don't."

"She knows then, about this?" James was a little worried, wondering which of his friends was in the right here.

Remus turned to him, recognizing the uncertainty in his tone. "Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey felt she could be trusted with the information. You know it's a lot for Madame Pomfrey to handle on her own. Evie is more than capable of helping her help me."

"And you? You trust her?" James eyed his friend carefully, looking for any sign of hesitation.

Remus gave him none. "Absolutely."

Sirius was shaking his head. "This is wrong. You can't just trust her Remus. You should know that. I mean, the world out there, and in here for that matter…it's twisted. You can't just give out trust like that."

Remus rolled his eyes. "I'm not just giving out trust Sirius. Dumbledore trusts her, wants to help her even. If he says we can trust her, that's good enough for me."

Sirius shook his head. "I just don't know, Remus."

James looked between his best friends. He heard the surety in Remus' voice, and the doubt beginning to creep into Sirius'. Wondering if he would regret it, he laid his hand on Remus' shoulder and nodded.

"If both of you trust her, then I guess I can too."

Sirius was startled. He had though James would stand by him in this, of all people. A small voice in the back of his head told him maybe they were right. But the other, prouder part that always had to be proven right drowned it out. He shook his head furiously.

"I can't believe this. Not you too Prongs, not you too." He looked between his two friends, still shaking his head. "This isn't right. This isn't how it's supposed to go." He gave them one anguished look before turning and walking out the door, muttering as he went.

"She was never supposed to take everything from me."

* * *

**Sorry it was so short but I fell victim to chapter breaks that were seemingly uncontrollable! Please review! **


	13. Friend or Foe?

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowlings'.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and support! Another speedy and short update due yet again to snow! Sorry for the length- the next chapter however is promising to be a monster!**

* * *

Evie did not leave the hospital wing until late that night. She had not expected what she had found behind those doors, but once she knew there was no way she was leaving her new friend alone any longer than she needed to.

Dumbledore had been waiting for her and had been the one to tell her about Remus, the one who had made her swear not to tell a soul. Evie had seen a desperate hope in the old man's eyes and knew he was telling her for one reason and one reason alone.

He was hoping she knew some way to help one of the brightest students to ever walk Hogwarts' halls, some way to ease his burden.

Evie had seen werewolves before, knew that were she was from there were potions to keep the demons within at bay. Indeed, she knew that most chose to take the potions and that it was an easy way of knowing who was good and who was not. There were some witches and wizards who shook their heads at this, disgusted by the idea that these creatures were allowed to walk amongst them. In her time werewolves were tolerated, sometimes even loved. Here that was obviously not the case.

Yet she did not know how to make these potions. The magic behind them was something too advanced for a trainee, even one like her. So when she had gone to stand beside Remus' bed, it had been with nothing to offer, no hand to give.

Climbing the stairs back to the dorm for a few hours rest, she remembered the look he had given her in return.

_Remus opened his eyes at the cool touch on his arm, sighing in relief as a comforting wave of magic swept through him. He was taken aback by who it was he saw then and wrenched his arm away. Instead of Madame Pomfrey, Evie was standing by his bed, her eyes full of something akin to pity. _

"_What are you doing here?" He couldn't quite quiet the growl in his voice, looking at her angrily. There was too much of the wolf there already._

_Surprisingly, she did not flinch, instead taking his arm again in her firm grasp and continuing her work. "Trying to help."_

_Remus remembered then what she had said about wanting to be a healer and private lessons with Pomfrey. _

"_You know?" The anger was, strangely enough, subsiding rather fast. Usually, this close to the full moon he couldn't even try to keep his temper._

_Evie looked at him. "Dumbledore told me. He wanted me to help Madame Pomfrey." She hesitated. "Comfort, calming nerves, and making this transition easier- those are things I do quite well."_

"_How?" _

_Evie sighed. "I've done it before. Another patient…another place."_

"_You pity me?" The question came naturally, expressing the fear that always resided deep within him. Worse than fear, than hate, would be pity. _

_Evie shook her head and laughed, surprising him once more. "I don't think I could find any way to pity you, Remus. You're too strong for that. Most would crumble under this burden." She looked at him, somber now. "Instead you fight for a life you would not have otherwise. I admire you, Remus. Not pity, no, never pity."_

_Remus was puzzled. "Your eyes…"_

_She caught on quickly and shook her head fiercely. "Regret, Remus. That I can do this and nothing more."_

_He looked down at her hand on his arm, feeling again the soothing magic. The rage returned, smaller this time, and not directed at her. "James and Sirius…"_

"_They're outside the door."_

_He nodded grimly. "I want to see them."_

Evie shook herself free from the memory. She had let the boys in, as agreed. She had busied herself elsewhere, hearing nothing but the door slamming when Sirius stormed out and the soft sound of it closing once more when James followed quietly. She and Remus had not spoken of what had passed but she was sure it would bring nothing but more trouble the next day.

* * *

Indeed, Sirius was not to be seen the next morning. James, however, was speaking to Lily and Evie once more. The three were joined by Peter and passed breakfast in relative peace. The rest of the day was not so easy.

When Sirius finally appeared, it was in Charms at the end of the day. He obviously had not slept much and did not spare James a second glance, choosing instead to sit with a quiet Hufflepuff who, seeing his new partner's vicious mood, spent most of the lesson with a friend at a neighboring table. At the end of class he stormed back out.

James and Lily shared an anxious glance, but Evie resolutely ignored him. So he wanted to throw a temper tantrum. So he thought she was trouble. Fine. Who was she to care?

Of course, there was Quidditch practice to worry about. Grimacing at the thought, Evie went back to the dormitory to change.

* * *

"Stupid, idiotic, crass wanker! Bloody bastard!"

Thus Lily found Evie fuming after practice, all while throwing her equipment around the room. The redhead sat down patiently on her bed, waiting for her friend to calm down. She and James had spoken at length at lunch so she knew the gist of what had happened. He had been upset at his best friend and still somewhat angry with Evie. They both knew it was her fault Sirius was in such a state, though neither quite understood why. Sirius might be suspicious, but he wasn't one to deny the truth, particularly not when it stood so solidly in front of him. And everyone with half a brain and the time to see could tell that Evie was not bad, particularly not since the events of the previous evening.

Lily knew James would like Evie, given the room to do so. But now, with Sirius refusing to speak to him, it was unlikely that James would betray that friendship by openly befriending Evie. It was a twisted situation.

Evie had shown little concern over it, instead putting on a calm, reserved face. Now, however, something had obviously gone wrong. Evie was still ranting, her face turning red, when she noticed Lily's presence. She did not shut up immediately, choosing instead to shout out a particularly long strand of expletives before kicking her trunk and collapsing on the bed next to Lily.

"Everything alright?" Lily smiled slightly. Evie being angry, particularly in this fashion, was rather amusing.

"I could kill him Lily! Murder him!"

"Sirius?"

"Don't say that bastard's name! He's a despicable, disgusting, deplorable…"

Lily cut off her friend before she could continue. "What did he do?"

Evie sat up and lifted the hem of her shirt. A large purple bruise was forming on her right side. "The bugger shot a bludger right into me. On purpose! He broke three ribs with it and he's luck I didn't fall off my broom or I would be lying in the hospital wing myself!"

"He hit you on purpose?"

Evie snorted. "He might as well have smacked me with his own bat." She shook her head. "I'm used to injuries. I am a beater after all. But this bloody beats it all. You're not supposed to get hit by your own team, let alone your partner!"

"I can't imagine James is too happy."

Evie let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Yeah well he certainly gave Sirius a piece of his mind. Going on about keeping it off the field and how childish this was. He's lucky Sirius didn't smack him in the jaw."

"Sirius knew he was right."

Evie fell back on the bed. "Still, I probably would have. Instead he just left practice, and Lara followed right behind him, nursing his pride no doubt. James was really pissed then. Bit difficult to finish practice without a beater and a chaser!"

"You're alright though?""

Sighing, Evie nodded. "I fixed myself up in a trice. I just don't get it." Lily was surprised to see tears on her friend's face. "Why does he hate me so much?"

To this Lily had no answer and thus merely collapsed back onto the bed next to her friend. "Boys. Who could ever understand?"

At this point Sirius himself could not even understand. The way he was treating Evie, the back of his mind whispered, was ridiculous. James had been right: he was being childish. But he couldn't stop. She had gotten under his skin, going from a puzzle he needed to solve to an unexplainable nuisance he wanted to get rid of.

The part of him that wanted to just forget his suspicions and trust her was letting him know loud and clear what it thought. Obviously part of him was attracted to her. Even after she had slapped him, when she had looked at him with such disgust, that part of him could only think about how beautiful she was when she was angry. And today, out on the pitch, the bludger incident had only happened after she'd given Alexander Styce a particularly charming smile. That part of him reasoned that he was jealous, jealous and frustrated, since she didn't seem in the least part attracted to him.

The larger part of Sirius of course was denying this. He didn't like her, didn't trust her. That was all, end of story.

As the evening turned into night, Sirius left his lurking of the hallways and headed down towards the Whomping Willow. Surely tonight, of all nights, he and James could get through this. They couldn't leave Remus alone.

**Please Review!**


	14. Healing Hands

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowlings'.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and support! Enjoy!**

* * *

Madame Pomfrey had requested that Evie arrive at the hospital wing earlier than she was required, before anyone was awake for lessons. Evie knew they were bringing Remus back from wherever he was kept and that Madame Pomfrey would want everything in order. She did not expect to see anyone as she slipped through the halls, reaching the hospital doors by 5:30.

Yet there she found Peter, Sirius, and James pulling Remus into the ward. Remus had scrapes on his hands and face. His left arm was bleeding profusely and he was knocked out cold.

"What the hell?"

"Shit." Peter noticed her presence first and Sirius and James looked up at the same moment.

Sirius headed towards her, seeing the shock on her face and held out his hands in a gesture of peace. "Look Evie…"

She ignored him and went to Remus. James had leaned him up against the wall when she showed up. She crouched by his side, taking his hand in her own. She took her other hand and felt his forehead.

"He has a fever," she said looking at the boys, who had backed away. "And these cuts are bleeding really badly."

She pulled up his shirt to look at the source of the blood on his arm. The boys had bound it messily, though tightly, with what looked like a strip of torn cloth. "This is really bad. Really, really bad." Evie was muttering, as her hands searched and found all of Remus's wounds. Remus was very slowly starting to awaken.

"What's going on? Evie? What happened? Where am I? Sirius and James..."

"Shhhh. Sirius and James are right here. It's going to be okay." She gave him a weak grin and Remus returned it before groaning and passing out again.

"Shit, Remus, you're really beaten up." She pulled her wand out of her pocket, obviously deliberating the best course of action before waving the hospital doors open and levitating him through them.

The three other boys followed after her in silence, watching as she pulled back the sheets on a bed and set Remus down.

"Can we do anything?" It was James who spoke first, breaking Evie's silent contemplation.

"Where's Madame Pomfrey?" Sirius had never known the witch to miss a new patient being brought to her ward.

Evie shook her head and Sirius noticed that her hands were shaking. "She should be here. She was supposed to meet me here…" Her voice was shaking too but after a moment she put on a stern face.

"Peter, get me two pitchers of water. James, go into the cabinet over there and get me some of those rolls of gauze." She looked at Sirius, wondering for just a moment if he would take orders from her. Seeing only concern for his friend, she continued. "Sirius I need you to go to the herb cabinet. There will be a spool of extra fine thread and a cream next to it with a red label. Give me those, the bottle with the yellow sticker labeled Accelerated Healing Ointment, and the green bottle labeled Disinfectant."

Sirius nodded and headed over to the cabinet, gathering the items she had listed. Peter returned and placed the two pitchers next to Remus' bed. Evie took a deep breath.

"Thank you. Now Peter…I want you to go find the Headmaster. Madame Pomfrey should be here."

Peter nodded and scurried off.

James returned with the gauze, watching Evie uneasily as she stood surveying the unconscious Remus.

"He's still bleeding." James' voice had begun to shake as well. "Shouldn't you do something?" He hadn't meant to be harsh, but she seemed to be standing on the edge of a precipice, unwilling to jump.

"I've never dealt with anything this bad before. I'm not sure I can do it. We should wait for Madame Pomfrey."

"You know we don't have much time." Sirius had returned and placed the items she asked for on the table. "You have to do it Evie."

She looked at him, rather surprised to hear him expressing any confidence.

He recognized the look and smiled wryly. "None of us know how to do any healing. You're the best chance he has." Sirius looked back at his unconscious friend. "Besides, he trusts you. That's good enough for me."

Evie stared at him for a long moment before breaking her gaze and sighing. She stepped closer to the bed and placed her hands on Remus' injured arm. The binding they had placed on it was keeping the bleeding in check, but the rough fibers might enter the wound if it was left on too long. Not thinking of the state her robes would be in once she finished, Evie began to unwind the bandage, keeping one hand firmly placed over the wound as the cloth came free.

The cut was deep and wide and Evie couldn't help cursing under her breath. This was far beyond anything she had dealt with. Still, it had to be done. Holding onto Remus's arm firmly with one hand she placed the tip of her wand at the edge of the cut and muttered a brief spell. The blood was coming slower now, though it still looked like a lot.

"The disinfectant?" She reached out a hand, hoping the boys hadn't passed out or left. Someone placed the open green bottle into her hand and, wondering only for a moment if she should bother with cotton pads, she poured some into the wound. The liquid bubbled as it met the skin, making a strange hissing sound. Remus jerked beneath her and she cursed her foolishness. She had forgotten the fever.

"Sirius, get the jar in the cabinet marked with a blue star."

She tried to soothe Remus with her own magic as Sirius rushed to the cabinet. This was no neat healing that she was giving him. She should have waited for Madame Pomfrey, for someone more experienced. Where was Peter?!

Sirius was back now and she told him how to apply the cream to Remus' temples, the spell that would help quicken its results. She focused in on the cut. The disinfectant had done its job and the open wound was clear now, though blood still welled in its depths. She could see what it was now, how the edges were jagged, as though made by teeth.

Evie gulped. No use letting her thoughts wander there. Now was the hard part. Most witches would have turned to sealant, hoping that the spells they put in their creams would fuse the flesh back together. Evie's way was surer, though infinitely more difficult. Placing her wand on the bedside table, she rested both her hands over the wound, ignoring the blood on her hands. She closed her eyes and sunk into the magic she felt within the marrow of her bones. Traveling through the magic she found its match in Remus. His life force was wilder than hers, as most were.

Still, she gritted her teeth and rode it, finding her way to his shoulder, sinking into the flesh and melding the flesh back together. She was glad he was unconscious, naturally unaware of the burning feeling that was surely passing through his veins. He would wake up drained and thirsty, but by then the pain would have subsided.

Sirius and James watched her with awe. They both had been treated by Madame Pomfrey's capable hands more times than they would have liked, but never had they seen this. Evie's hands were no longer shaking. Instead they shone softly, a pale green light seeming to flow from them to Remus. There her light met a dark blue flame, mingling under Remus' flesh. Most amazing was what was happening to Remus. The bite on his arm was beginning to close up. The smaller cuts on his face were fading from existence. They were both so caught up in what was happening before them they did not even notice Dumbledore's presence in the room until he stood next to Evie, careful not to touch her, and whispered something in her ear.

Evie had lost the world until Dumbledore spoke, telling her she'd done quite enough, she needed to let go now. Slowly, careful not to pull any of Remus' strength with her, she drew away. Only once she was fully disconnected did she realize how much power she had used.

Remus' arm was completely healed and he looked the picture of health. She, on the other hand, felt like jelly. Her legs were shaking and her knees buckled beneath her as she attempted to step away. Thankfully, Dumbledore had seen her fall coming and conjured up a chair that she fell into gratefully. She had not meant to go that far, hoping only to stop the worst of the bleeding and finish more traditionally. There would be no need for stitching or anti-scarring cream. If her hands and robes were not covered in blood she might not have believed it had happened at all.

Dumbledore was saying something to her, but the roaring in her ears had yet to subside enough for her to hear. James, Peter, and Sirius were watching her, their eyes wide in disbelief. Peter's mouth had dropped open and she had the sudden urge to slap it shut. Sighing and closing her eyes, she sunk back into the chair and into sleep.

Dumbledore smiled softly at his newest student and conjured up a blanket. She deserved sleep. The sun was showing through the windows and he could hear the sounds of students waking throughout the castle.

He had not forgotten the three standing behind him. Shaking his head in bemusement, he turned to look at them. When Peter had run into his office shouting about Remus being terribly injured, Dumbledore had feared the worst. These boys had obviously felt the same way. Thanks, however, to the bravery of a girl they barely knew, he would be fine.

He eyed them each carefully, enjoying watching them shift uneasily under his watch. "So. It's been quite a night, hasn't it?"

The boys made no move, waiting for a scolding, some detentions. They never came.

Dumbledore sighed. "It is of no use for me to yell at you for taking care of a friend. I will caution you not to speak with anyone about what you have seen." He looked back at Evie. "What Miss Montgomery accomplished here was no mean feat. The skill she possesses, however, is more than a tad unusual and I am sure she would not want it spread about school. You know how rude people can be when someone is special."

The boys nodded, still too awed by what Evie had done to think of how she had done it.

Dumbledore watched them a second longer before nodding briskly and ushering them towards the door. "You should get some sleep. I will excuse you to your teachers."

They moved forward willingly but when they reached the door James stopped and turned back. "But Headmaster, where is Madame Pomfrey?"

Dumbledore turned around. "I was not aware I had to explain the whereabouts of my staff to you, Mr. Potter." He looked at them kindly and sighed. "Madame Pomfrey was called away on an urgent matter. I did not foresee these difficulties and merely assumed that Miss Montgomery would be more than capable of helping your friend."

"Which she was." Sirius still did not know what to think of Evie, but he did know that what she had done back there was more than most could have.

"Yes, Mr. Black, she was. However, what she has done here has drained her considerably. She will not be back to her full strength for several days."

"In time for Quidditch?" James immediately showed more concern than he had all night.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm sure she will be in fine shape to play, Mr. Potter."

James sighed and headed out the door, Peter and Sirius following.

"Mr. Black, a moment?"

All three turned around to look back at Dumbledore. "Your friends should get back. I'd like a word."

Sirius nodded at James, who shot one worried glance back at the Headmaster before heading down the corridor, pulling Peter with him.

"Yes sir?"

Dumbledore surveyed the young man before nodding and turning, heading back to Evie and Remus. Sirius, confused as to the Headmaster's motives, followed. Dumbledore pulled one of the beds closer and, first saying a spell to clean the blood off Evie's hands and remove her ruined robes, levitated the slumbering girl into it.

Sirius watched, noticing now that although Remus' cheeks were flushed with a healthy red, Evie looked pale and drawn. She curled onto her side in the bed, frowning and grumbling in her sleep. As she turned, the hem of the shirt she had been wearing under her robes lifted and Sirius saw the edge of a fading bruise. He had been angry when he hit the bludger at her, but he had though she was fine. Now he realized that perhaps she had merely worked some of the magic she had done on Remus on herself. He wondered how much energy that had taken, and if she would have been better now if she hadn't needed to do so.

Dumbledore pulled the blanket over her and turned back to Sirius, noting the concerned expression on his face. "Mr. Black?"

All of Sirius' thoughts came out in a rush. "I hit a bludger at her. I saw it hit and I heard it hit, but she seemed fine. She healed herself, didn't she? She healed herself and so she didn't have enough energy to keep on her feet. She wasted it on something I did to her."

Dumbledore smiled kindly and led Sirius away from the beds, pulling a curtain around them. "She'll be fine. Perhaps she would have had a little more strength but what she did today was difficult, more difficult than we could ever imagine."

"How does she do it sir?" Sirius was seeing past his shock now, and more confused than ever.

"That is a question you should ask her yourself, Mr. Black. If you ever decide to speak to her again."

Sirius looked up at him, startled.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "I hope you did not think I am completely blind to what goes on in my school. I may be an old fool, but I am not blind, particularly when it comes to how new students are welcomed here."

"Sir…"

Dumbledore shook his head. "You know better than many of your classmates what kind of prejudice exists and how dangerous it can be. Your lack of trust is not surprising. I understand that you have doubts over Miss Montgomery's origins, particularly due to a conversation of ours you overheard."

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, sir, I swear."

"Yet you did. And what you heard has caused more trouble than you bargained for. You have placed yourself in an impossible position Mr. Black. Miss Montgomery is unlikely to tell you anything, particularly when you are so cruel to those who have become her friends. And you are acting too stubborn to yield."

"Can't you tell me? I heard you talking to her, warning her."

"I cannot tell you, nor would I. You expect trust when you give none out. I trust Miss Montgomery. So do your friends. Perhaps you should consider why."

Sirius shook his head. "They don't even know her."

"Do you know any of them that well?" Dumbledore shook his head, knowing Sirius would not understand. "What you really need to think about is how she came to be friends with all of you so quickly, when your group has been so tight knit that over the past six years no one else has been so close to you. Why is it that all of you get along with her so well? And why can that alone not be a basis for trust?"

Sirius was staring fiercely at the ground, focusing on the ripples in the stone floor.

Dumbledore sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, guiding him to the door. "It's time you get some sleep. Go and think about what I've said. You can come back and visit your friends later."

Sirius did not miss the plural, nor did he protest it. Deep in thought, he headed back to the dormitory for some much needed rest.

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! ALL FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED!!!! **


	15. Change on the Wind

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize as JK Rowlings'.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and support! This is a rather long one so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Remus woke the next morning feeling better than he ever had after a full moon. It was strange. He thought last night had been one of the worst. As usual, his memories of his time as a wolf were clouded, so little more than emotion remained. Over the next few days, he would remember more, if James, Sirius, and Peter did not fill him in first.

He did remember a lot of rage from last night, but could see none of its usual effects on his body. His skin seemed completely unmarked and he felt well rested. Surely he had not slept longer than a day. He sat up and looked around. To his left, at the other end of the hall, he could see Madame Pomfrey examining another student. On his right, curtains surrounded another hospital bed. He wondered for a moment what was behind them, but then Madame Pomfrey was next to him, drawing the curtains around his own bed and handing him a familiar cup of steaming potion.

"I'm not sure you really need this, but it doesn't hurt."

Remus took the restorative potion and took a sip. "How long was I asleep?"

"Only yesterday and last night."

"But how is that possible? I feel like I've slept for days." Remus was startled.

"You remember nothing?" Madame Pomfrey frowned when Remus shook his head. "I wonder why that is. They said you were awake for a brief time."

"They? Weren't you here?"

"No, I actually was not. Miss Montgomery was, as were your three friends. You have her to thank for your life."

"My life?"

"There are no scars, nor will there be, but it seems you were worse than usual."

"I don't understand."

Madame Pomfrey put a comforting hand on his shoulder, easing him back into the pillows. "I was not here and thus cannot fully explain what happened but it seems Miss Montgomery laid a very powerful healing upon you. Perhaps, when she awakens, you can ask her to explain."

"When she awakens?"

Madame Pomfrey nodded towards the bed next to him. "She very near knocked herself out. She'll be sleeping longer than you." She looked him over. "In fact, once you've finished this potion, you're free to go. I daresay your friends will be wanting to make sure you're alright."

Remus had never been let out of the hospital wing so quickly. He gulped down the rest of the burning potion, pulled on the new clothes Madame Pomfrey left on a chair for him and, with one last glance at the curtains encircling Evie's bed, bolted out the door.

He found Sirius and Peter in the common room when he arrived. Peter was working on an essay and Sirius was staring moodily out the window.

"Shouldn't you lot be in class?"

"Moony!" Sirius jumped out of his chair and came over to him, clapping him hardily on the back.

"You're alright then?" Peter came to stand with them.

Remus grinned. "I feel better than ever!"

"Moony!" James came running down the stairs, hair still wet and spraying droplets everywhere. "You're back." He looked his friend up and down. "You look brand new!"

"I feel it," said Remus, still smiling. "So what, you decided to just skip classes?"

Peter shook his head. "Dumbledore told us to take the morning."

"You weren't well off yesterday, mate." James elaborated. "We slept all day yesterday too. We're to go to class this afternoon, but he said to skip this morning."

"I don't understand." Remus' smile faded. "Madame Pomfrey said she wasn't even there."

The other three exchanged looks and looked around the common room. There was no one there yet but it would be lunch soon enough and people might be coming back to pick up books and the like. "Maybe we should head up to our room," suggested Peter.

The others nodded and headed upstairs, Sirius lagging behind, looking wistfully towards the portrait hole. James paused and waited for him to catch up. "She probably won't be back today."

Sirius didn't even pretend not to understand. "I know," he shook his head. "I just wish I knew she was okay."

"You can go visit her after class. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will let you in."

Sirius nodded and continued up the stairs. "I hope so."

Peter and Remus were waiting for them; Peter refusing to answer the latter's questions.

Remus turned on Sirius and James. "Madame Pomfrey said Evie healed me. She said I owe her my life."

Sirius sat on the trunk at the foot of his bed, ignoring the mess around him. "You do."

Remus looked to James for confirmation. He nodded. "You were bad, worse than I've seen you in a while. We couldn't get control." He saw the horror on his friend's face and rushed to reassure him. "Don't worry, we kept you from anyone else. But not you." He looked at his feet.

Peter picked up where he had left off. "You were trying to tear at us but then you started in on yourself. We tried to stop you, but you kept scratching and howling and biting."

Sirius was muttering something and the other three looked at him.

"What?" Remus was frustrated, wanting to know exactly what had happened.

"It was my fault," Sirius muttered. "The worst of it, it was all me."

James was shaking his head emphatically. "No, Sirius man, you were just doing your best."

"What happened?" Remus hated not knowing what had happened, what he himself had done.

Sirius seemed to catch onto Remus' bitterness. "It wasn't you. It was me. I tried to keep you back and…I took a chunk out of you, Remus." There were tears in his eyes and the others were shocked to hear the catch in his throat.

"Sirius…" Remus was not used to being the one reassuring someone of their own good.

"I could have killed you, goddammit. If Evie hadn't been there, I very well might have."

Remus stared at his friend, startled by the emotion in Sirius' tone. "Sirius, I could have killed you lot hundreds of times before." He went to sit by his friend. "I don't think you should be beating yourself up. You were just protecting me and everyone else."

Sirius looked at him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry we fought, that I said those things. I'm still, well I'm still not sure we can trust her, but I am sorry I judged Evie so harshly."

"You're still not sure? Even after last night?" They were all surprised to hear the disbelief and disapproval in Peter's voice. "And I thought I was the idiot."

Everyone laughed at this and Sirius shook his head ruefully. "I guess I really am."

"What happened?" Remus looked at each of them in turn. "How did she do it?"

James shook his head. "I've no idea man."

Peter had adopted the same amazed expression he had worn the night before. "It was…well obviously it was magic, but it was something more."

"What do you mean? Madame Pomfrey heals me all the time, not to mention the fact that all three of you have been in her care more than once." Remus was confused by the awe in their voices.

"Not like this." James shook his head. "I don't really know how to explain it but I guess it was sort of like wandless magic."

"She pulled it out of thin air?"

James hesitated. "Not really. More like she pulled it out of herself and gave it to you. Which might be why she collapsed." He shrugged. "You have any theories Sirius?"

They all turned to Sirius, who was now pacing and obviously not paying any attention. "What?"

"Theories. About Evie?"

"Huh, no." He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair in a very James-like gesture. He stopped pacing at the head of the stairs and turned back, about to say something before thinking better of it and heading down the stairs without a word of explanation.

His three friends watched him go, almost amused by the perplexed Sirius.

"He looks like you," Peter mused to James. "He looks just like you do when Lily does something nice."

* * *

Evie woke around noon, still exhausted. The curtains surrounding her bed had been charmed to keep out light and the area around her was pitch black. She sighed and sat up, stretching her arms. She was spending way too much time in these hospital beds. It was a strange reversal of roles, from nurse to patient.

So much had been reversed and time was not the least of it. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts and looked around for her wand. She found it on the bedside table and used it to lift the spell. Light poured in and a groan sounded from the opposite side of the enclosure.

Startled, Evie turned and saw only an empty chair. She swung her legs out of bed, wincing at the jolt in her bones as she stood. She approached the chair with her wand outstretched, jumping back when it touched a very solid mass and set off several sparks.

Sirius pulled off the invisibility cloak when she jabbed him, scaring her so badly that she stumbled back. She almost fell but at the last minute he grabbed her arm, wrenching her shoulder badly but pulling her back up before she hit her head on the bed frame.

"Ow!" This new pain hurt more than it should have. Evie sighed and sat back on the bed, rubbing her shoulder.

"I could say the same," Sirius said wryly, massaging the spot where her wand had poked him.

Evie glared at him. She usually had a very high tolerance for pain, something that came from a near perfect immune system and her strange healing abilities. She had not realized how drained she was. Grimacing, she pulled up her sleeve to examine her shoulder. A bruise was already forming.

"That's the second one you've given me! You better hope there are no broken bones with this one; I haven't nearly enough strength to cope with that."

"You're welcome your highness." Sirius rolled his eyes, annoyed until he realized just what she had said. "Broken bones?"

Evie nodded. "You broke three ribs!"

Sirius shook his head, even more ashamed. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"As well you should be!" Evie huffed.

Sirius looked at the floor, shifting his weight from leg to leg.

Evie looked at him and sighed. "I'm sorry. I get irritated when I'm tired and bedridden like this. You were an ass though."

Her bluntness made Sirius smile. He came to sit at the foot of her bed. "I know. I deserve a beating."

Evie grinned, somewhat evilly. "Oh you'll get one. Don't worry about that."

He smiled. "Does it happen a lot then? This whole weak and bedridden thing?"

"I never said I was weak!" Evie protested and then laughed. "Although I am. To answer your question, no, it does not happen frequently. It's only happened twice before: the first time I healed anyone and the first time I healed a broken leg. It gets stronger with time."

"You don't mind me asking these questions?" Sirius was surprised with how frank she was being.

She shook her head. "No. Should I be?" She held up a hand. "No, don't answer that. You asking about where I'm from, what Dumbledore was talking about; well I mind that. But this…" she shrugged. "This is just part of who I am. There's no point in hiding it from people who've already seen some of what it means."

"What is _it _exactly?" Sirius didn't want to dwell too much on what she had just admitted: that there was something to be asked, something to be found in those other areas.

Evie tried stretching again, rolling her shoulders as she searched for an answer to his question. He waited patiently, watching her and noting the dark circles still under her eyes.

"I don't know what to call it." Evie settled on the difficult explanation, the full one. She would not care to admit it, but she did hope that telling something true to Sirius would put him off her trail. "It runs in my family. My aunt has it and so does my grandmum. My mother, all of my sisters: none of them had it. I'm the only one."

She gulped, remembering once more that none of them were even here to be jealous. Margaret had hated her when she found out, even though it had been her broken finger Evie had mended. The twins had been jealous too: being the baby was enough in their eyes; she shouldn't be so special.

Sirius watched the emotion flickering across her face. He had a feeling this talk would be emotional no matter what, considering what he wanted to say, but he didn't want her upset before she'd even explained. "So they had it, this healing thing? Your aunt and grandmum?"

"They still do." Evie sighed. At least her aunt would have it, eventually. "But you know they lived away from us. I never learned much from my aunt. And the same was relatively true with my grandmum as well, though she visited more often. She lived in England too and now she lives with my aunt. So my mum didn't know what to do at first."

"How did you find out?"

Evie gave an uncharacteristic giggle. "I broke my sister's thumb when I was seven and in a rage and then promptly mended it. Of course I fainted right after which freaked them all out but my mum knew what it meant. As for what _it _is, I don't really know. I've never met anyone outside of my family who could do it, although I'm sure there are some. Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey had never seen it before, but they'd heard of witches and wizards who could do it too."

Sirius shifted on the end of the bed. "How does it work?"

"Like anything else. I practice and I get better." Evie shrugged. "What happened with Remus was more than I'd ever done. I thought I'd do it half my way, half the traditional way. But it ran away with me. It does that sometimes, when my emotions are high." She blushed and averted her eyes.

Sirius felt a twinge of jealousy, not knowing why, before urging her on. "You looked like you were glowing."

Evie nodded. "I've been told that. I have a theory but…" She shook her head. "It's a bit ridiculous."

Sirius grinned. "You're a bit ridiculous. Tell me."

"Everyone has a life force. That's simple enough. You've heard of auras before right? How they have colors?"

Sirius nodded.

"You must have seen Remus' if you saw mine."

Sirius didn't miss the question in her words. "It was dark blue."

She smiled. "That fits. That fits well. What you saw when I was healing him, is something I can see whenever I want. If I look hard enough, it'll be there." She sighed. "That's what I think it is. It started as flickers of color here and there, first on my dog, then on my dad. Later I saw it more frequently until that day with Margaret, when I could touch it. When someone gets hurt, the color, or their life force, fades from that spot. If it's bad enough, it starts fading elsewhere." She looked at him sadly. "Remus' was flickering everywhere last night."

Sirius gulped and looked down at his hands. "But you can touch it?"

Evie nodded. "Somehow, and this is what I don't really get, my color, my life force, likes to detach itself from me and search out hurt parts of other people. Back when it first started, I didn't have much control. I didn't want to heal Margaret, but I did." She smiled at him. "You might not believe it, considering how angry I've been since I came here, but I'm generally a complete pacifist. I can't help it: it's who I am."

"Except on the Quidditch pitch."

"Yeah, except there."

They shared a smile, each knowing how aggressive she could be. But Sirius still had more questions.

"When you healed Remus, it was like you were pulling his aura, or whatever it is, to cover up the hurt part."

"It's sort of like that. Now that I've learned to control it, it's more that I guide the person's strength into the places that need it most. It's difficult to explain."

Sirius hesitated and then voiced another question. "I'm sorry to ask this, because I know we're playing nice and I actually like it, but I need to know. This isn't why you're so dangerous is it?"

Evie raised an eyebrow and he rushed to explain.

"If you can manipulate it one way, it stands to reason you would be able to do it the other way around." She still didn't seem to understand. "I mean, if you can pull someone's life force where you want it to go, can't you just…pull it away?"

Comprehension and horror dawned simultaneously on her face and even before she spoke Sirius was comforted.

"I would never! Never!" She shook her head vehemently. "I can barely keep myself from healing people's stupid little cuts and colds. I used to be terrible at Quidditch because I couldn't bear hurting people. It hurts _me_ when someone else is hurt."

Sirius nodded in understanding but Evie wanted to drive the point home.

"I've done training in a hospital before, you know. When I first went in, this young doctor didn't believe such a young witch could really help. He sent me to where people with terminal illnesses were, ones we can't cure. The first day there was one woman who was obviously ready to die. She was older and had lived a full life. She told me so, when I was sitting with her." Evie shook her head, holding back tears. "She died, with her hand in mine, and I couldn't breathe. Every particle in my body was screaming. I was lucky my mum had been working with me to strengthen my control or I might have died trying to save her."

Sirius looked at her, seeing the anguish of that moment echoing in her eyes.

She went on. "If I was responsible…No, I can't even imagine." She looked at him intently, nodding when she saw that she had made her point.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's fine. You had to know. I just wish…" She sighed. "Sirius, you should know it's something that you will never guess. It's something that I never want anyone but Dumbledore to know. It's something that makes _me_ afraid."

He nodded. "That was part of the reason I was hiding here. I wanted to apologize – for being an ass and all."

Evie smiled. "Finally. I was hoping we could be friends."

Sirius was surprised to hear it, but even more surprised at how happy it made him. The first few days, before he had heard more and asked more than he should have, had been fun. And Quidditch would be much more bearable if he could actually talk to his partner.

Evie interrupted his thoughts. "That was only part? What other reason would there be?"

Sirius blushed slightly, cursing that slip of the tongue. He did not think he had enough courage to reveal the other reason.

They both jumped when the curtains were pulled back with a snap. Madame Pomfrey looked startled as well. She had obviously not been aware of Evie's visitor. Momentarily flummoxed, she quickly settled back into her bossy self.

"Out! Now! She needs rest, not you jabbering away in her ear." She flapped her hands at Sirius. "Out, Mr. Black."

Sirius looked back at Evie and raised his hands in defeat. She gave him a weak smile. "Go."

He smiled and after giving Madame Pomfrey a friendly squeeze on the shoulder, walked towards the door. Evie called after him.

"Don't think you're going to get away that easy, Black. When I get out of here I expect an answer to my questions too."

He smiled and walked on, going to find his other friends.

* * *

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! I KNOW IT SOUNDS ANNOYING BUT ALL FEEDBACK REALLY IS APPRECIATED!!!!**


	16. Flight and Fright

**Disclaimer: All you recognize is JK Rowlings, all else is mine!**

**Hey guys! I would try to excuse myself for the long wait for an update but really there is no excuse. I have been distracted and completely disconnected from this whole world for quite some time and was considering just doing away with FanFiction altogether. But then I think about readers, and what good practice it all is, and... I think after this my decision is self-explanatory.**

**Hopefully you like it. I cannot promise a particularly speedy update ( I am just getting back to Evie and Sirius and the whole gang after all) but hopefully it won't be too long.**

**Enjoy! (And please review!)**

**

* * *

**

James Potter headed down to the Quidditch pitch early on Tuesday night. He was worried about the upcoming match versus Hufflepuff. Against all odds, the Hufflepuffs had put together a team that could beat his. Especially considering everything that had happened to his team.

He sighed and opened the broom closet, pulling out his broom and a pair of clippers. One of the branches had been giving his broom a strange list at the last practice. It had been a terrible practice. Sirius was luckily still dating Lara Milner so the Chasers were fine, but his Beaters were another story. Evie had been in the hospital wing for too long.

James sat on one of the benches and thought about the new girl. When Evie had finally been permitted to leave the hospital, it was with both Lily and Sirius at her side. He did not know quite what to make of the friendly camaraderie between the two former malcontents, but he supposed he should be much happier with things this way.

The rest of the weekend had certainly gone smoothly enough. They had all spent Sunday out by the lake, catching up on work and joking around. But Quidditch wasn't just about friends getting along.

Sirius and Evie hadn't had much time to practice together, at least not in the way they needed to. They had been so angry at each other that they had never been able to form a dynamic as partners. James had been hoping that their reconciliation would smooth that over, but the practice last night had shown little improvement. Evie was obviously still recuperating and Sirius seemed afraid to push her too far.

He was surprised by the way his friend treated Evie. Where previously he had been harsh and demanding, he was kind and thoughtful. He treated her like a piece of china, ready for her to break at any moment. This wild swing in treatment had left James' head spinning. Evie had seemed to pick it up easily though, clearly enjoying this Sirius much more than the other.

Practice had only been a failure because Sirius was unwilling to drive her, constantly swooping in and trying to rescue her from Bludgers. He had left his other teammates unprotected on multiple occasions. They had been lucky no one was hurt.

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair restlessly. He grasped his broom tighter in one hand and marched out onto the pitch. He was surprised to hear laughter coming from above him. Looking up, he saw two people chasing each other in a circle around the pitch. One laughed lightly, teasing the other and James shook his head. He really didn't have the time to deal with kicking a new couple off of his Quidditch pitch. About to tell them off, he realized he recognized the other person's voice. Sirius was berating the girl, who James now realized must be Lara.

"You're going to tire me out before practice even starts!" He complained, still flying after her.

The girl responded with another laugh. "Endurance, Mr. Black, is the key to Quidditch."

"Now you sound like James! Soon you'll be telling me what's wrong with my seat and how I really should be holding my bat."

The girl swung around, hovering in mid air, to study him. "Well actually, you could straighten out your shoulders a bit. You're leaning and it's making your broom list to the right."

Sirius growled and shot towards her, causing the girl to shriek and dive, still laughing. James had just enough time to realize that the girl wasn't Lara before hearing a huff at his shoulder.

He turned to see the Chaser standing next to him, visibly upset. "We were supposed to meet before practice," she complained softly. "He blew me off to come out here and fool around with _her."_

James had luckily realized just who it was Lara was talking about. "I'm sure they were just practicing and he lost track of time. We're all worried about the match on Saturday and they've had so little time to practice together…"

He knew his excuse was a thin one but he hoped it would be good enough for now. This was exactly what he had been worried about. Sirius would find someone else more interesting than Lara and slowly slide away from her, only to break up with her just as he was getting involved with someone new.

Evie came gliding to a stop in front of them, still laughing, saving James from making more half assed excuses. Sirius followed moments behind.

"Hey mate! Evie and I thought we'd get some practice in, beforehand."

James grinned, glad his friend had backed up his excuse. Of course, Lara was still shooting Sirius daggers with her eyes. He ignored them, pulling of his gloves and running a hand through his hair.

"It's good Quidditch weather. If this holds, all should go well for us."

James turned his attention back to the game. "Don't underestimate the Hufflepuff team. They'll give us a run for our money."

Evie looked at him curiously. "You think so?"

James nodded. "They have a good team this year. The captain, Freddie Ressner, has really done something with them. And their seeker is fast."

Evie nodded. "But their chasers aren't as good as ours. They don't communicate as well. And the one Beater, Thompson I think his name is, isn't good at hitting from the left. We can take advantage of that."

James was surprised. "When did you find all this out?"

Evie smiled. "I convinced Madame Pomfrey to let me watch out the window. Her office faces the Quidditch pitch. I watched them practice twice."

"Any more insight?"

Evie thought for a moment before responding. "I think you could score a few by having Lara come up under the posts with the Quaffle and then passing to you while you fly in straight, while Alex distracts him by flying in from the right or left. He may catch on, but he always neglects the center in favor of the odder angles. Also, their smallest Chaser has a crush on Alexander. Use that."

They looked at her, startled. "How is it you know all this already?" asked Sirius.

She shrugged. "I watch and I listen. Every little bit counts."

James shook his head. "I've never used gossip to get ahead."

Evie raised an eyebrow. "Really? Maybe you've never needed to before." She smiled. "It's a weakness. Part of the game is manipulating the other team's weaknesses and preventing them from playing off yours."

"We have weaknesses?" Kylie had joined the group.

Evie rolled her eyes as Alexander and Tommy came onto the pitch. "Of course we do. If they're smart, the Beaters will target Lara."

Lara snorted. "Why would they do that?"

"They know you're dating Sirius. They'll assume he will abandon everything to protect you. They'll make him stick to you like glue. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if they give us a few in the beginning. Alex, everyone knows your ego is huge. The better you do, the worse you play."

James eyed her carefully. "What else?"

"Tommy, your left side is your weak one. The rest is good, but your left turn is slow. If they're really, really perceptive they might notice that James, you prefer to throw with you left arm, even though you're right handed. Look out for a hit there."

"Where did you learn to think like this? And don't say your sisters." The depth of information she had just presented astonished Sirius. He barely noticed these things and he'd been playing with the team for four years.

Evie frowned and turned to James. "You notice these things, right?"

He nodded. "I just never thought to use them against another team."

Evie smiled. "It's strategy one o' one."

Kylie shook her head. "Where did we ever find you?"

Evie laughed at this. "I was going to be captain…back home. Of my team. I've been preparing for it since I was twelve. My sister was a captain before me." She grinned at them. "She had high expectations."

James considered her a moment longer before facing the rest of his team. "Evie's right. We need to pay better attention. This game can be easy, if we don't get distracted."

With that, he released the bludgers and picked up the quaffle. "Let's play!"

* * *

Several hours later, the team made their way in for dinner. Lara's earlier anger was appeased; Sirius had spent the latter half of practice showering her with compliments and was now sitting alone with her towards the end of the Gryffindor table. Evie found herself between Remus and Lily, smiling distractedly as she listened in on their conversation about the latest Potions essay.

Talking about being captain, acting like this team was her team (and now fighting down the twinge of sorrow that they weren't): it had brought up more painful memories. She had left behind a future full of promise, not to mention a world empty of the fear and danger present in this one. She sighed and pushed aside her food.

Lily looked over, momentarily distracted from her debate. Evie just shook her head and stood from the table. "I'll see you guys later. I have work to do."

She checked the head table as she walked away, making sure that the headmaster had actually left. His seat was still vacant. She waved goodbye to Sirius and Lara and set off for his office. He had said she could call on him whenever. Now was as good a time as any.

When she actually reached his office, she wasn't sure what to do. She knew it was a gargoyle that guarded the door and that this was the gargoyle she was looking for. What to do with the gargoyle was an entirely different matter.

"Excuse me?" She cleared her throat anxiously, wondering why she was talking to a statue. In her experience, the ones in Hogwarts (or anywhere else really, though for different reasons) were never really helpful. "Excuse me? I was hoping to see the headmaster?"

The creature shook its head lazily and opened its eyes. "Password?"

"Well, see, I don't actually know it."

"No password, no entrance."

"He said that I could meet him here..."

The gargoyle rolled its eyes. "Does it look like I have an appointment book? No password, no entrance."

"Look, the headmaster told me…"

"Yes and he tells me his every thought, details every part of my conversation, sits down here with me and braids my hair." The gargoyle snorted. "I have one task: password or no password. One way I let you up, the other way…" He stopped speaking suddenly and Evie turned around.

Dumbledore stood behind her, an eyebrow raised as he appraised the gargoyle before pulling out his wand and muttering a hex. That done, he turned to Evie with a smile.

"I always feared he was a rather chatty, cross fellow."

"What did you do to him?"

Dumbledore laughed. "Merely silenced him for a very long time. Oh don't worry," he continued taking in her expression. "It'll wear off eventually. Maybe he will have learned to hold his tongue by then."

Evie shrugged. "He was just doing his job."

Dumbledore smiled and looked at her kindly. "You're not quick to judge are you?"

She blushed. "I think there's more than meets the eye with most people, that's all."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, that is true. In most cases at least. Though most people wouldn't count gargoyles in that category."

"They have minds, don't they? Or at least they seem to. Maybe it's just what someone else gave them, but still. They should be allowed to use their minds just like us."

Dumbledore studied her for a moment. "I would very much like to know where exactly you are from, and who raised you, that you think like that. Most wizards today don't hesitate to look down on those they think possess an inferior intellect. It must be a very different time."

Evie frowned. "Very. Not so dark, nor as scary, as right now."

"Which is what I assume you are here to discuss?"

Evie nodded and the headmaster smiled. "I thought you might want to talk about that, eventually. Let's take a stroll then, and discuss the current climate. The weather is lovely this time of year and I hate to spend a perfectly good evening indoors."

Evie nodded, and turned with him to walk outside. It was funny, how nice he was. He always seemed so…well frankly, he just seemed too smart to be nice in all the textbooks. Yet here she was, having a conversation with him like they'd been friends, or at least acquaintances for years.

"Do you have questions?" he prodded, breaking her reverie.

"Yes. Well, sort of. More like half formed thoughts and musings and, well, just a jumble of things I don't know, or forget, or just don't understand. I mean it's 1977 and obviously Voldemort is everywhere…"

Dumbledore smiled, listening to her talk, as they walked outside, filling the beautiful evening with talk of war and death and other dark, dreadful things.

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT! (Hence the all caps)**


	17. Just Another Fall Friday

**Disclaimer: All you recognize is JK Rowlings, all else is mine!**

**Another day, another chapter. This is a lot of fluff, but hopefully it is pleasant fluff. I felt like 16 chapters was enough lead in to a little romance...**

**Enjoy! (And please review!)**

* * *

Evie's last class of the week was Herbology. It was a good way to end the week, particularly a week like she'd had. The subject was comforting: it had always been her best. The fact that none of her new friends were in the class might have helped too. The N.E.W.T level class was small and Professor Sprout usually had them work alone. Evie never had to worry about getting distracted with her own thoughts.

She had been preoccupied lately; thoughts of the growing war and the uncertain future were never far from her mind. She and Dumbledore had talked a lot about the war, not just that night but the next as well. It had been strange, talking about the maybes of the future that were the truths of her past. Dumbledore had kept her from straying too far into what she knew: he obviously did not want to know any more than he could.

One topic they had touched on towards the end of their conversation was still bothering her, perhaps most of all. She did not like the fact that it was the part that was the most worrisome; it should have made her happy.

He was closer to procuring her a time turner. He thought that he might have one by the end of next month. Evie wasn't sure if he had noticed her silence after he had mentioned it. She rather thought he had.

She sighed, looking out the greenhouse windows. Hogwarts would look almost the same when she returned. You would still be able to see the Whomping Willow from this vantage point, though it would be larger. The lake's surface would still glimmer in the sunlight. The leaves would turn just like this, falling in large drifts. Even the castle looked much the same: they had done a good job with reconstruction after the final battle.

Evie shook her head and turned her attention back to the plant in her hands. There would be some big differences. Dumbledore would be gone. Different students would fill the halls. And there would be no Lily to laugh with, no James bossing her around on the field. Sirius would not be there to make her laugh. Peter would not be there, struggling through the Defense against the Dark Arts homework with her, nor would Remus be there to help them. The Quidditch team would be different: no Kylie to make faces at behind James' back.

She did not want this hesitation. She was _supposed_ to want to go home. This simply would not do. Shaking these thoughts out of her head, she turned back to her work. By the time class ended, she had managed to push her concern to the back of her mind.

As she said goodbye to Professor Sprout, Evie noticed a lone figure leaning against a nearby tree. Squinting in the afternoon sunlight, she walked towards the boy.

"What are you doing here?"

Sirius smirked. "Waiting for you."

"Why?" She had not meant to sound so incredulous.

He laughed. "I wanted to see you. Does a friend need another reason?"

Evie raised an eyebrow. "I guess not…"

He grinned. "I thought you'd be more pleased to see me."

Evie rolled her eyes. "What, is everyone else ignoring you?"

Sirius sighed. "Yes. James took Lily on a broom ride and Remus and Peter are doing _work._"

"I knew it! I'm the only one left." She punched him in the shoulder. "And here I am, thinking you really cared."

"Nope, not a bit. Just bored."

Evie laughed and turned away from him, heading back towards the castle.

"Wait! You know I'm just joking." He caught up with her, walking by her side.

"Of course. When are you ever actually serious?"

"All the time," he responded, his eyes twinkling at the pun.

She groaned. "I should have seen that one coming."

He laughed. "You're not used to it yet. Don't worry, it's an easy mistake to make."

"I'll have to be more careful, start looking up synonyms."

Sirius nodded. "You'll have to eliminate the word from your vocabulary entirely."

"Is that what you've done?"

"Life's so much more pleasant without it."

"Without the concept as well, it seems."

Sirius looked at her, smiling. She was grinning now too. "What were you planning to do now?" he asked, changing the subject abruptly.

"Nothing, why?"

Sirius grabbed her hand, tugging her back away from the castle. "I want to show you something."

"Sirius…"

"Come on! It's worth it, I promise!" He continued pulling on her hand, leading her towards the Forbidden Forest.

"We're going in there?"

"Yes!"

She sighed. "You could have at least let me drop off my bag."

Sirius reached around her and took her bag. "I'll carry it."

Evie, momentarily shocked by this display of chivalry, let him. "Where are we going?" she asked, as they headed into the forest.

"You'll see," said Sirius, gleefully.

"This better be worth it," she grumbled, but smiled, letting him lead her deeper into the forest.

* * *

James had been surprised when Lily agreed to go on a ride with him. She usually hated spending time alone with him. But now they were flying high above the hills surrounding Hogwarts and her arms were wrapped tight around his waist.

He leaned into the wind, savoring the feeling, before taking an unexpected dive. Lily squealed, pressing her face into his back and laughing. James grinned, slowly landing the broom. They were on the opposite side of the Great Lake.

Lily sighed. "This is beautiful."

James nodded in agreement. "I love the autumn here."

"It'll be winter soon," said Lily ruefully.

"But that means snowball fights and hot cocoa," replied James.

Lily flopped down on the ground, sighing. "Yes, and going home for Christmas."

James sat next to her. "I thought things were good with your family?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "With my parents, yes. My sister…well, she's never quite gotten over the fact that I'm a witch."

"It must be difficult for her."

Lily looked at him curiously.

He continued, "I mean, you have this gift, this great, wonderful gift. You can do _magic_, things most people can't even dream of. A whole different world opened up for you. And it never did for her." He shook his head. "I can't even imagine. She must be going mad with jealousy."

"You think so?" Lily shook her head. "I used to think so, but now she just looks at me like I'm crazy and calls me a freak. And she has this new boyfriend…he's a big, stupid bloke and he was 'round our house all summer. I think they're going to get married. And he just makes it worse. There's _nothing _magic about him- it's like he's taken all the kind, caring bits of her and turned her into this muggle _robot._"

James looked at Lily, seeing the hurt in her eyes. "It's not your fault you know."

She shook her head again, but he wouldn't let her interrupt. "You can't stop being who you are- it's not your fault that you're a witch and she's not. Either she can deal with it or she can't. You can't force her to."

Lily smiled sadly. "I just wish I could make her see how sorry I am…"

James nodded, looking out across the lake. "Will the holidays really be that bad?"

Lily shrugged. "I'm not sure. It depends. If Vernon's there…"

"You can always come to my place, you know. My parents would love to meet you." James blushed and muttered, "They've heard enough about you over the years."

Lily's entire face went red and she looked away.

"I'm sorry…" James realized he had made her uncomfortable.

Lily turned to him and James was surprised to see that her eyes were shining. "Don't." There was a catch in her throat as she spoke. "Please, don't apologize. I…I would actually really like that."

"Really?" James was staring at her like she was crazy.

She laughed. "Yes. Everyone says your parents are the nicest. And…it wouldn't be so bad, spending the holiday with you."

James just kept staring at her, his mouth agape.

"James?" Lily waved a hand in front of his face. "You still in there?"

James shook his head. "I'm not sure. Is this the same world? First you say yes to a broom ride, now you want to come home with me for the holiday. I'm actually not sure this isn't a dream."

Lily ducked her head, a small grin growing on her face. "It's no secret that I no longer hate you, James."

"I had noticed that. I mean, you use my first name and you rarely hit me over the head anymore. But this is a bit more than I'm used to."

Lily just looked at him, smiling. "Things change, James. I was wrong. I didn't…I wasn't really thinking, all those years I guess. And now, now I don't…"

He cut her off, leaning in and kissing her square on the lips. She was startled for a moment, her eyes fluttering open then closed. But something _had_ changed: she closed her eyes fully and leaned into him, placing a small hand on his broad chest. James wrapped his arms around her, finally burying his hands in her long red hair.

When they finally broke apart, they were both grinning and now James' eyes were shining. "I'll have to owl my parents when we get back to school," he said breathlessly.

Lily just laughed and pulled his face back towards hers.

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	18. In Denial No Longer

**Disclaimer: All you recognize is JK Rowlings, all else is mine!**

**This update is mostly due to celticpuzzlestrangerranger, arwenjanelilylyra, and Aebbe. I hope you enjoy it! **

**

* * *

**

"Lily agreed to go on a broom ride with James?"

"Yeah, the first time he asked too," Sirius laughed. "He was shocked."

Evie nodded. "I bet. Good for him. Good for both of them, really. I've been here what, just about a month, and even I was getting annoyed with how long it was taking."

"Imagine being around it for six years."

Evie shook her head, rolling her eyes in sympathy.

Sirius groaned and rolled over in the grass. "It was terrible."

They had reached Sirius' secret spot nearly two hours ago and Evie had to agree that it was worth the walk. She hadn't been so sure when they were ten minutes deep in the forest with no sign of stopping.

"_Just a little further, I promise!" Sirius was still holding Evie's hand, a fact she was all too aware of. _

"_Sirius, we've been walking for a while now. Where are we going?"_

"_You'll see!" he insisted._

_She sighed. "I'm still not entirely convinced you haven't just dragged me out here to murder me."_

"_It's right up ahead, I swear!" _

"_And you've sworn it about twenty times since we first…" Evie's grumbling broke off. This time he had not been lying._

_Before them was a clearing, but like no clearing Evie had ever seen. The trees surrounding it formed an almost perfect circle and they, like all the other trees in the forest, had lost most of their leaves. But the clearing itself was in full bloom. The grass looked softer and greener than any grass had the right to be. Evie recognized blooming plants of hellebore, lovage, henbane, and monkshood among those growing._

_She stepped into the hollow, awed, as Sirius watched her from the edge. She turned back to him. _

"_How did you find this place?"_

_He shrugged. "I stumbled across it once day. I've never brought anyone else here."_

_Evie continued to look around, astonished. "It's beautiful."_

"_I thought you might like it." Sirius joined her in the center of the clearing, still watching her. "It's always blooming."_

_Evie looked at him and smiled softly. "It's incredible. Thank you."_

_He grinned and sat down. She followed suit. "I just can't believe it…"_

They had been lying in the grass ever since. She still didn't understand it. She wondered if Madame Pomfrey knew about it. Sirius had been oddly thoughtful in bringing her here. She looked at him, curious.

"I like you so much more, now that you're nice."

He turned to her, startled. "Thank you?"

Evie laughed. "It _is_ a compliment. I swear."

Sirius smiled. "I'm glad." He turned his eyes back to the sky. The sun was setting. "I hope tomorrow is as beautiful as today was."

Evie stopped watching him to study the sky. "It'll be perfect match weather if it holds."

"We're ready, right?" He turned back to her. "Us, I mean. To play together."

Evie looked at him, her eyes meeting his. "Yes."

He smiled at her certainty. "Good."

They lay there in silence for some time, watching the sky grow dark before both rising and heading in for dinner. It had been a beautiful afternoon.

* * *

Sirius found himself thinking of Evie when he woke the next morning. He still found it strange, how easy it was to be friends with her now that he had accepted there were some things he might never know. She was too easy to get along with.

The afternoon before had been one of those times: being with her was simple, as easy as breathing. Lara's anger when they returned had not escaped his attention. She had given him the cold shoulder, sitting with her own friends at dinner. He was not quite sure that it was unwarranted. Sitting up in his bed, he cringed.

They had all been right, but for the wrong reasons. He already knew what was happening with Lara wasn't going to last. It wasn't that he didn't like her: he did, he really did. She was smart, funny, and obviously very beautiful. It was just that he liked someone else a lot more.

That he could admit it to himself came as a big shock. He'd yet to voice it to any of his friends, though he suspected Remus already knew. He wasn't ready to say anything about it to anyone and wasn't sure if he ever would be.

The small voice that had whispered to him days before had been right: Evie was under his skin. Their easy camaraderie, the way she deflected any comment he or James made with a better one of her own, her long, wild hair: it was all on his mind day and night.

He had known it from the moment he grew concerned after her prolonged stay in the hospital wing. The thing he couldn't say when he visited her- the biggest reason he was there- that was it.

He had never done this before: thought about someone to distraction.

He sighed and pushed himself up, pulling on his robes slowly. A disgruntled James poked his head out of his bed hangings. "You up mate?"

Sirius nodded, smiling slightly at his friend. James was usually the first one up on match days. But he and Lily had come back late the night before, both blushing profusely from all the stares they got. Sirius hadn't had a chance to talk it over with James yet, but he was sure that he would hear about it soon enough. Things seemed to be working out between the two of them.

James was ready in a few minutes and they headed down to breakfast, both silently trying to rouse themselves. Evie, Kylie, and Tommy Calvino were already sitting at the Gryffindor table when they entered the Great Hall. There were a few other students around: most were not awake yet.

Sirius and James muttered quiet hellos to the others and sat down, filling their plates and concentrating on getting the food down.

The rest of the team joined them shortly. Sirius remembered his girlfriend just in time to shoot her a smile. She took the hint and sat down next to him, her hand finding his under the table.

Everyone was quiet and nervous. Sirius could see that the Hufflepuff team was in the same shape across the hall. The rest of the students were slowly filing in, chatting excitedly about the game, some wearing house colors and holding small flags and banners. Most of the Slytherin table was dressed in plain black, clearly not showing support for either team

Sirius saw his younger brother sitting with Severus Snape and some of their friends. It was strange: here was someone he had grown up with, suffered with, perhaps the only person who would ever really know what the Black family was really like, and Sirius felt no connection.

They were all conceited pricks, he thought, the familiar anger rising in his stomach. Snape, with that insufferable smirk constantly on his face; Regulus, constantly turning his nose up at everyone around him. It had been worse when Malfoy and Bellatrix had been here. He remembered those first few years: the quiet anger constantly emanating from his older cousins. Narcissa had done whatever her sister was doing: it had been torture. He looked away, his brow furrowed, and concentrated on his pancakes again. He had a game to play. There would be plenty of time to worry about the blackest of the Blacks later.

Soon enough, James signaled the team out to the pitch. They headed down to the changing room quietly, the rest of the school streaming out from the Great Hall behind them, laughing and shouting. Before they entered the changing rooms, Sirius watched as Lily gave James an embarrassed peck on the cheek. His friend's face flared red and his teammates laughed, the nervous energy broken for a moment.

It didn't last for long: they were all fidgeting again by the time they were changed, sitting and waiting for James to give his usual speech.

He was pacing in front of them, staring at the floor. They all watched as he crossed the room several times, wondering when he would speak,

"Uh, James?" Kylie broke the silence. "Are you going to say something or should we just head out? Madame Hooch is going to want to start _sometime_ soon."

James nodded distractedly, taking a few more steps before turning to face them, a fierce look in his eyes.

"We're not just a good team- we're a bloody excellent team. We train hard, fly hard, work hard- we deserve this." He broke off, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure there's anything I can say right at this moment that will make us any better- or that we even need to be better. We can win this- " He broke off again and grinned foolishly at them. "We're _going_ to win this."

Sirius smiled. James may have been a good captain when it came to practice and strategy, but his speeches always seemed to leave something to be desired, a fact he was sure his friend was all too aware of. Still, you couldn't help but admire his energy.

Sirius stood and clapped his best mate on the back, turning to the rest of the team. "Then let's go win this!"

* * *

It shouldn't have been that easy, but it was. The Gryffindor team played their best and so Hufflepuff never really had a chance. The final score was 460 to 70. Remus and Peter had snuck off quietly after the game while their friends were being congratulated, coming back shortly with several cases of butterbeer and one case of firewhiskey. The Gryffindors loved to celebrate a good Quidditch game in style.

The whole house was in the common room and someone had put on loud music. Sirius was dancing with Lara, twirling her around the room and knocking into several of his bemused housemates in the process. James and Lily were sharing a bottle of butterbeer and an armchair in the corner. Evie was standing next to Remus, and both were watching everyone's antics with amusement.

"Is it always like this?"

Remus smiled. "Minus the James and Lily in the corner part- yes."

Evie laughed. "So usually James is getting drunk?"

He nodded. "Yes, and it is _not_ a pretty sight."

James seemed to have heard them. He tugged Lily to her feet and they came to join their friends. "Oi, Moony, what are you going on about? I'm the only one of this lot who can hold his liquor. Pete usually collapses in a corner after a bottle… " They looked around and sure enough, Peter was snoring peacefully by one of the fireplaces. Evie laughed. "Moony here usually gets put in a stupor- or starts to sing…" Remus hung his head shamefully and muttered something about that only happening once. "…while Sirius goes and snogs about ten different girls silly."

"Hey! I heard that." Sirius had danced Lara over to his friends. "I still think Remus is right though Prongs, I'm sorry to say it but you are a horrible drunk."

Evie looked around curiously. "What does he do?"

"He either starts to moan about Miss Evans here," said Remus, nodding at a blushing Lily. "Or he gives really terrible toasts and knocks over every bit of furniture in the room."

"My toasts are not terrible!" James protested.

"They really are, mate." Sirius sniggered. "Do you remember his one about McGonagall? I thought I was going to die from laughing."

James shook his head, embarrassed. "Alright, that one was quite awful."

"And the one about Slughorn?"

"That's not fair! I can give really good toasts!" He looked around at the unconvinced faces of his friends. Even Lara looked doubtful. Only Evie was looking at him with delighted amusement. "Here," he whistled, and the room quieted.

"Does anyone have some firewhiskey?"

A nervous fifth year passed him a bottle, and he conjured several glasses for his friends, filling each to the brim before raising his own glass.

"I'd like to propose a toast…" There were some quiet groans from the crowd, but everyone else smiled in anticipation.

"To Evie- the newest addition to the Gryffindor team- here's to your mean Bludger Backbeat- with you on the team, there's no way we'll lose the cup this year!"

The room erupted in cheers as everyone drank to their new, now profusely blushing, beater. Evie gulped down her own firewhiskey, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes and hoping they would all assume that they were due to the burning of the whiskey.

She smiled, pushing down her guilt, as Sirius and Remus congratulated James on finally giving an appropriate toast and laughed when they started to recite some of his past toasts.

She let James and Sirius parade her around the room, laughing and blushing as people bowed mockingly to their, as James put it, Quidditch Queen.

Nonetheless, it wasn't long before she took an opportunity to sneak up to her bed and hide. The sounds of the party followed her up the stairs, but Evie was oblivious to the merriment below. She was too busy cursing herself as the tears began to flow full force.

She was making a fool of herself. So much for her supposed wisdom. Her old classmates had accused her several times of belonging more in Ravenclaw then Gryffindor. Now she wondered if they had been right.

She was a coward. So desperate for friends, a place to belong, she had inserted herself into these peoples' lives like it meant nothing. Like she did not know that she would leave soon enough. James would have to find a way to win the Quidditch cup without her.

Evie gasped for breath, sobbing uncontrollably now as she changed into her pajamas and climbed into her bed. There was nothing left to do. She had dug herself a hole and, though she would soon be spirited out of it, she would have to live with it. She pulled the curtains shut around her, giving herself over to her tears. There was no way to end this without causing extreme pain.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it! I had planned to describe the Quidditch match in detail, but I'm saving that for another chapter in which the action with play a _much_ bigger role. Please Review!**


	19. Rude Awakening

**Disclaimer: All you recognize is JK Rowlings, all else is mine!**

**I got this up much quicker than I thought I would- and it's also a lot longer than I expected! I hope you all enjoy. Thanks to Aebbe, Alyss, and Tiryn for their reviews (sorry I haven't responded- things have been a little crazy) and thank you to all those who added me to their favorites/alert lists. It means a lot to know that you're all reading along!**

**Enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

Lily Evans had finally given in: that was the news all over school the next day. The whole school had heard by then, the Gryffindors who had witnessed James and Lily cuddling in the corner the night before gleefully passing the news on to their friends in other houses. There were those who shook their heads knowingly, saying that it had only been a matter of time. Only a very small portion of Hogwarts' population was disappointed- mostly the ones who had been living in denial about their chances with Lily and James, respectively. Severus Snape had reportedly blown up a cup of pumpkin juice when he heard the news.

Lily wasn't really aware of any of this. She was too busy being happy. Even the headache she'd had upon waking could not wipe the smile from her face. When she met James in the common room to go to breakfast, she was positively glowing. The only smile brighter than hers was his and even that was debatable (he was, of course, dealing with a much more significant hangover).

When Evie joined them at the breakfast table, she had to smile as well. She nudged Peter, who was also grinning.

"Took them long enough."

Peter groaned, his reaction identical to Sirius' two days earlier. "You have no idea."

Remus, sitting across the table, shook his head. "I was getting a little worried that it would never happen. Or that we'd have to wait until after graduation."

Sirius sat down next to Remus, hand in hand with Lara. "It's so much better this way. Now we get to tease them about it every day."

A well-aimed strawberry hit him in the nose.

"Just because I'm dating your best mate doesn't mean I can't still hex you, Black." Lily smiled at him evilly. "In fact, it means I'll be in a much better position to do so."

Peter laughed. "You better watch it, Sirius. I've seen what she can do when she's annoyed."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "James will protect me. Right, Prongs?"

James turned to his best friend, grinning as well. "Sorry Padfoot. You're on your own now."

Lily smiled happily, giving him a peck on the cheek. "That's what I thought."

Someone made the sound of a whip cracking and James looked angrily at Sirius. "Really, mate?"

Sirius shook his head, pointing across the table. James redirected his stare but Evie just shrugged and smirked. "It had to be said."

Lily laughed at the sulky expression on James' face and whispered something in his ear. The smile returned and Evie smiled, shaking her head at her friends' happiness. She was still a bit worn out from the night before: it wasn't easy, knowing that everything good would have to end soon. Still, it was nice to know that this at least would continue after she was gone. She was sure of it.

"What's the plan for the day?" Peter asked the group as a whole.

"I predict that these two will go slinking off to some quiet corner," Remus nodded his head at Sirius and Lara.

"And James is going to take Lily flying again," added Evie. "Though how long they'll be up in the air is anyone's guess."

"Which leaves the three of us," finished Remus as Evie was hit by another strawberry. "I say we finish the Defense essay and play a few games of chess?"

Peter nodded enthusiastically. "I've yet to play you, Evie."

"Sounds good to me!"

"And I'll play winner," Remus said as he stood. "Meet you in the library by the back windows in ten? I need to go back and grab my books."

Evie and Peter nodded; they had both brought their books down to breakfast.

"We'll see you lot later," Evie waved to the others as she and Peter exited the Great Hall, shouting as she exited the hall, "Try not to have too much fun!"

* * *

_She doesn't need to worry about that. At least not with Sirius and I._ Lara regretted the thought as soon as it entered her mind. She had been trying so hard to deny the fact that this thing she had with Sirius was bound to end soon. And she had been doing a good job of it. Now, though, as she watched him watch her leave, she knew that there was no denying it anymore.

Lara may have been a shameless flirt, but she was no fool. The whole of Hogwarts knew she had tried out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team for the sole purpose of snaring Sirius Black and most of the school thought she was an idiot for it. Then again, her plan had worked. She was dating the boy, wasn't she? It was something most girls who wanted the handsome playboy could not say.

So now that the whole thing was falling apart, she was smart enough to recognize it. She knew that he was wishing he going to study with _her_ instead of going off with her. Lara had been watching Sirius watch Evie all week. He'd never looked at anyone that way, much less Lara. Maybe that was why no one else seemed to see what was happening.

She wished she could hate Evie for it. It would be so much better if she could yell at the girl for stealing her man, but it was clear that Evie was, for the most part, oblivious. She had been nothing but nice to Lara. And she and Sirius had barely spoken before this week. For God's sake, the girl was the only one who had ever slapped him, though he had certainly given other girls reason enough to do so.

Lara sighed. No, there was no one here to blame. Even Sirius was blameless. He was attracted to the other girl and Lara was sure he knew it. But he had not acted on it. He still acted like Lara was the only girl in the world he wanted to be with.

As if he had read her mind, Sirius turned back to Lara, a forced grin on his face. "Ready to, uh, what did Remus say? 'Slink off'?"

Lara plastered an equally forced smile on her own face and nodded, letting him pull her to her feet.

They waved goodbye to the other couple and left the hall. Lara let Sirius continue to lead her, still lost in thought. She wondered what she was doing; spending so much time in a relationship already doomed to fail. She sighed quietly, hoping he didn't hear. It was too bad, really. He was just too damned attractive for his own good.

They came to an empty classroom, and Sirius looked back at her. "This good?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively and she smiled, praying to some unseen god.

_Just a few more days of this, please. I don't know if I'll ever meet someone who snogs like this again!_

_

* * *

_

It was late when the group gathered together: it had been another beautiful autumn day. Peter, Remus, and Evie had given up on playing chess and headed outside, wandering around the grounds until the setting sun reminded them of the time. The two couples had been absent at dinner, not that anyone had expected them to reappear so quickly. Still, it was nice to come together in the common room at the end of the day.

Lara had gone off with friends from her year, though not before giving Sirius one last passionate kiss goodbye in front of the portrait hole. He rejoined his friends quietly, squeezing in between Remus and Peter on one of the couches. Lily and Evie were working on a Potions essay on the floor; James was staring distractedly into the fire. Kylie was there too, studying her Transfiguration notes.

Remus looked at his friends, glad to be home. Lily, Kylie, and Evie were welcome additions to the group. The former two really should have been there all along; only James' obsession with Lily had kept them away. And now…

Well, that had all come together in the end.

And Evie, Evie was certainly welcome. For all the mystery that still surrounded her presence, she was at ease among them. And Remus had not forgotten what Evie had done for him. It was difficult not to treat her with awe, though he knew she would have only been embarrassed, or, worse yet, annoyed by it.

He looked at her, watching her hands in particular. How was it that they seemed so frail and were really so strong?

She seemed to feel his gaze and turned her head to look at him. He smiled and shook his head.

"Don't mind me, I'm just dozing off. Staring into space."

She nodded. "It's been a long weekend."

"I always plan to get more sleep and then…"

"It's easy to get distracted."

He nodded. "Especially with this lot."

Sirius elbowed him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Remus chuckled. "Nothing bad, I swear. It's just…"

"You're all interesting, that's all." Evie jumped in. "I mean, it's entertaining, being around you. In a good way."

Lily smiled. "They are sort of like a comedy show or something."

"Or a train wreck," Peter grumbled.

The others looked at him in confusion.

"You know: something so horrible you can't look away."

"Well, James certainly is hideous enough for that to work." Kylie ducked as her captain aimed a pillow at her head.

Evie laughed, though it quickly turned to a yawn. "Whatever it is, you lot are exhausting." She began rolling up her parchment. "I'm off to bed."

"Wait for me," Kylie gathered up her notes as Evie stood.

"You coming, Lily?"

The redhead looked back at James, smiled, and shook her head. "In a bit."

"Alright, night then." Evie waved and turned to the stairs, Kylie following behind her. "See you tomorrow!"

The boys watched them go. It wasn't long before Peter and Sirius called it quits too, heading off to their beds.

"This is nice," mused James, after the other had disappeared.

"What?" asked Remus.

"Being together like this."

Lily nodded her agreement. "It's perfect."

Remus smiled, wondering if his two friends were aware of the fact that their own spats had kept the group apart for years. Still, they were right. "It's comfortable."

"I'm glad Evie and Sirius aren't fighting any longer." Lily rolled up her own essay and moved to sit with James. "I don't know how much more of that I could have taken."

"It's nice that you two aren't fighting, either." Remus grinned at his two friends. "That went on for far too long."

They both blushed; there was no denying the truth of that statement.

"Sorry, mate," James said.

Remus just shook his head and stood. "As long as it stays like this, I'll be happy." He yawned and ran a hand through his hair. "Don't stay up too late. I don't want to have to drag his sorry ass out of bed tomorrow," he nodded at James. "You have no idea what he's like in the morning."

Lily laughed. "He'll be up soon, don't worry."

"Night, Moony."

"Night, Prongs."

Remus headed to bed that night with a grin on his face. Maybe, just maybe, this would be a good year after all.

* * *

The week passed quickly from there. The gossip about Lily and James died down soon enough, though the smiles on their faces took longer to fade. Evie watched her friends with enjoyment. They made a perfect match once you got down to it. James' humor was quick to defuse Lily's ferocious temper now that it was no longer pointed at him and her wits kept him on his toes. It was a good thing to see.

Still, Evie couldn't push away the grief and guilt that had swamped her Saturday night. She was exhausted the whole week, crying herself to sleep every night. It was all she could do to keep her eyes open in Defense class Thursday morning; Peter had to nudge her several times to make sure she was awake.

"Are you okay?" he asked as they walked to lunch. "You look like you haven't slept a wink."

Evie smiled wearily. "Too much work and too much Quidditch practice will do that to a girl."

Peter frowned. James had actually seemed to be pulling back on the practice this week, most likely due to Lily. And none of the professors had assigned much this week.

He didn't get the chance to push her on it. They turned the corner to find Sirius and Lara in a heated discussion.

"I don't get it." Sirius had his arms crossed and his brow was furrowed. "You seemed happy enough this weekend."

Lara sighed. "Sirius, this isn't an argument. It's over, that's all."

"Why?" Sirius asked petulantly.

"It just _is_." Lara was obviously getting annoyed.

"There has to be a _reason…_" Sirius trailed off, noticing their audience.

Lara followed his gaze and rolled her eyes. "That's why," she grumbled.

He turned his attention back to her. "What? My friends?"

Lara groaned. "No. Just think about it okay? You'll figure it out." With that she turned and walked in the opposite direction, leaving Sirius looking lost.

"You okay?" Evie approached her friend and waved a hand in front of him. "You look a bit…" She searched for the right word. "Shell shocked."

"No one's ever broken up with him before," Peter said.

She turned to him in surprise. "Never?"

Peter shook his head. "Never."

"Wow," Evie shook her head and turned back to Sirius, who was still staring into space. "Well, it had to happen sooner or later."

Sirius made no response, not even reacting when Peter pinched him.

"He really is in shock," the short boy muttered. "Maybe you should slap him again."

He hadn't expected the resounding crack that followed. Nor, it seemed, had Sirius.

"Oi! What was that for?"

Evie shrugged. "It woke you up, didn't it? I'm hungry. I wasn't going to wait around all day."

Sirius stared at her. "You're crazy, you know that?"

She laughed. "Yes."

Sirius shook his head and turned away, heading to the Great Hall. The others followed him.

"I didn't think you would actually do it," Peter told Evie.

"I know. That's why I did. Besides," she added with a grin, "he deserved it. He's really _never_ been broken up with?"

"Never," said Peter gleefully.

"Will you two shut it?" Sirius growled at the two of them as the entered the hall.

"No," they chorused, smiling at each other.

"We get to drag this one out, mate. It's only fair."

Sirius stared angrily at Peter before letting out an angry huff and proceeding to where James and Remus were already sitting.

* * *

The news of the break-up shortly became the new gossip of the day, spreading throughout the castle in the matter of an hour. Evie and Peter were still laughing at Sirius' reaction. Remus looked like he was going to laugh several times, but he restrained himself. James, of course, was furious. Even Lily couldn't distract him. He just kept muttering about Quidditch cups and Slytherin.

Evie did feel a bit bad. Not so much about Sirius. She did not think he cared much for Lara anyway; it was more the shock of it all that was getting to him. And he was used to the gossip. It was the look she had seen on Lara's face when she'd turned around to see Peter and Evie watching. There had been annoyance there, sure, but also a touch of desperation. Evie had a sneaking suspicion that the break-up hadn't been what the other girl expected either.

Her suspicions were confirmed later that day. Between Herbology and Potions she always stopped in the bathroom to wash the dirt off her arms and face. It was there that she found Lara Milner, red eyed and sobbing in the last stall.

"Oh god, not you," Lara muttered when she saw who it was.

Evie, though taken aback by the other girl's reaction, smiled gently. "Are you alright? I mean, obviously, no, but are you going to be okay?"

She had never been good at this whole comforting thing. It was one thing if it was a broken arm or a twisted ankle. Emotions were an entirely different area.

Lara sighed and stood up, pushing past Evie to look at herself in the mirror. "Yeah. I guess. I'll be fine in the long run." She laughed pulling at the puffy circles under her eyes. "You'd think, since I was the one breaking up with him, that I'd look better than this."

Evie smiled. "It doesn't always work that way though, does it? Sometimes it hurts even worse."

Lara looked at her curiously.

"The last time I broke up with a boy," Evie elaborated. "I spent the next two days in bed with a box of chocolates and one of those muggle romance novels. I was absolutely miserable," she mused. "The crying does stop eventually, I promise."

Lara turned back to the mirror. "I wouldn't mind it so much, if it didn't make me so puffy!"

"I can help with that," Evie approached the other girl timidly. "Here."

When Lara made no move to protest, she laid a hand on the other girl's brow. When she pulled away, the puffiness was gone and her eyes were clear.

"Thank you."

Evie shrugged. "It's nothing."

Lara sighed. "Now at least I can face telling James I'm quitting without looking like a tomato."

Evie made to say something, but then stopped herself. Lara would make her own choice, no matter what she said.

"What?" It seemed that she had not bitten her tongue soon enough.

Evie hesitated, then dove in. "It's just, I guess I thought more of you. I mean, I haven't been here long but even I've heard about the girls Sirius has dated in the past: bimbos and crazy girls and even sweet ones who spend months crying. All these girls he's used in the past, who just seem to crumble once he's gone. The boys…well they don't speak very highly of any of them. Even Lily and Kylie don't really respect them. But you…"

"I what? I'm different?" Lara shook her head and laughed. "It's because I broke up with him, isn't it? Not the other way around? I broke up with him and so you think I'm this strong woman who can handle it all." She looked searchingly at Evie for a moment. "It's not true, though. If I were strong…" She stopped turning to the mirror, unable to face Evie. "If I were strong, I would have broken up with him last week. I would have broken up with him the moment I saw he was in love with someone else."

Evie was taken by surprise by that last bit, but she had to finish her part. "I don't know anything about all that. Yes, it was nice to see you stand your own ground like you did, when you broke up with him. I won't deny the fact that I enjoyed seeing someone put a hole in that boy's ego. But it isn't just that, I swear." She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair, trying to find the right words. "You're a brilliant Quidditch player. And by all accounts you're smart too. You're strong. And honestly…" Evie hesitated before turning on the other girl, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing Lara to look at her. "It would be a damn shame to see you go the same way as those other girls. Don't do that to yourself. Don't quit Quidditch. Don't just become another one of those girls. If you do this, that's all they'll ever see you as."

She could tell Lara was taken aback, but she couldn't stop. "You can be weak and crumble like all the others have. Or you can act like it's nothing. You can move past the pain and prove that you're more. It won't be easy. But it's the right thing to do. And, if it helps, I'll be there to help."

There were tears in Lara's eyes. Evie loosened her grip on the girl and turned away, embarrassed. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled slightly, shaking her head. She'd given herself the same speech once, with a few modifications. It had worked then. Maybe, just maybe it would work now.

Behind her, Lara continued to cry. "Why do you have to be so nice to me?"

Evie almost missed her words. "What?"

"It's horrible. I want to hate you. I wanted…" Lara hiccupped. "Last week I wanted to hit you, to go after you. I want so badly to be able to glare at you and call you nasty names, but I can't."

"I'm sorry?" Evie turned to look at the younger girl.

Lara laughed and wiped at her eyes. "He's in love with _you_. I can see it in his eyes, in the way he talks to you. And you can't even see it. You just walk around being nice and so I can't even hate you for it. You're here, offering to help me, and I want to _hate _you."

Evie was confused. "Who exactly are we talking about?"

"Sirius." Evie still looked lost and Lara shook her head. "Sirius Black. The tall, gorgeous Beater? The charming boy with the mischievous smile?"

Evie shook her head. "I know who you mean, but you…you're wrong."

Lara turned somber. "No. I've never seen that look in his eyes before."

Evie continued shaking her head. "It's something else. It has to be something else."

Lara smiled slightly, looking at Evie with pity. "It's not. You might as well face it. Sirius is in love with you. And, if I might be so bold, you're not entirely indifferent to him."

Fear swamped Evie then. "You have to be wrong," she told Lara, who just shrugged. Evie knew, even as she continued to deny it, that the other girl was not lying. Had she not suspected it? His original mistrust and anger had faded to something softer, but no less passionate. It had been there, in his eyes, when he visited her in the hospital wing. And again, when they lay in the clearing.

It was horrible; she could feel the small light inside her growing, a small hope blooming. Images of the two of them together; what could be if only she let it. And other images, images of what would happen if she did. The pain, the sorrow of saying goodbye: it would double, triple even, if she let this happen. And say goodbye she must.

Something cold and wet dripped down her cheeks. She lifted a hand to feel the tears there, startled. She looked up.

Lara was still there, watching quietly. "See? I told you so."

Evie took a step forward and looked at herself in the mirror. Her dark eyes were full of tears, tears that made tracks down her thin cheeks. Her hair was undone and wild and her nose was bright red. Somewhere in the castle, a bell rang.

"Evie?" She turned, still lost. Lara looked a bit guilty. "Would you…would you mind doing that thing again? I should get to class."

Evie nodded and lifted her hands to Lara's cheeks, reversing the effects of the tears.

"Thank you." Lara headed to the door and then turned back again. "I won't quit, at least not right off. And…" she hesitated. "And if you need to, you can always talk to me. I do know how tough it is to try to stop liking him, after all." She smiled wryly and waved a shy goodbye before leaving the bathroom.

Evie turned back to her reflection, the tears coming full force now. What new horrors had she brought upon herself now?

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	20. Slipping

**Disclaimer: All you recognize is JK Rowlings, all else is mine!**

**Sorry this took so long to finish! I'm in the midst of exams (one left!) so I've been buried in work. Considering, this one turned out rather long! Thanks go out to Cwarnic93, Alyss, Tiryn, CelticPuzzleStrangerRanger, and jazi12amaze for reviewing!**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

Evie arrived to Potions twenty minutes late. Her nose was still bright red, though the tears had stopped. Slughorn, appraising her appearance, did not take any points away from Gryffindor. He was not the only one to notice how upset she was.

Lily had wondered where her friend had gone. It was unlike Evie to be so late. Seeing her now, Lily put a damper on her own happiness. She set about helping Evie gather the necessary ingredients for the potion Slughorn had assigned. Her friend watched blankly, smiling a quiet thanks when Lily opened her book to the correct page.

Lily watched as she went through the motions, barely paying attention to her own potion. She was frightened that Evie would harm herself somehow; she seemed completely unaware of what she was doing. Something had been wrong all week. Lily had not been oblivious to that. But she had thought it a passing thing, a fit of blues spurred on by something trivial. If she had been paying more attention, she would have realized that Evie was not the kind of girl to let trivial matters keep her awake crying at night.

Now, Lily realized how serious it must be. Several tears had spilled from Evie's eyes, though she was quick to wipe them away. Lily had not seen this much emotion from Evie before, not even when she had arrived at the school, torn away from all she had once known.

She exchanged a worried glance with Remus, who seemed to be the only Marauder to notice. James was still grumbling at Sirius and Peter was watching the two with amusement. Remus was ignoring them. He too was watching Evie.

Class did not end soon enough. Lily barely managed to turn in both girls' potions (Slughorn raising an eyebrow at her, apparently noticing the substandard quality of both) when Evie's careful composure broke, tears streaming down both cheeks. She did not make a sound, instead turning away, obviously embarrassed, and quickly walking out the door.

Lily sighed and gathered up both their things before following. She caught up with Evie outside the portrait hole and helped the other girl through the hole, half carrying her up the stairs. They both fell onto Evie's bed and Evie soon curled into a sobbing ball.

Chelsea and Francine, who had also retreated to the dormitory after their last class, took one look at Lily's face and fled. Neither had shown much interest in Evie before. There was no reason for them to do so now. They were not friends with Lily; they had their own concerns.

"Evie?" Lily laid a hand gently on her friend's back. "Evie?"

Evie did not respond, but then again she had not expected her to. Lily sighed and began to rub her back, cringing each time her friend drew in another ragged sob.

"I wish I could do more," Lily said after some time had passed. She did not expect Evie to hear her whisper but the other girl surprised her, turning and sitting up abruptly.

Evie was a mess. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were bright red. Her usually uncontrollable hair was now beyond wild. The curls seemed to have grown thicker with her grief. She was still crying, hiccupping slightly, though the sobs had stopped.

"Oh Evie." Lily could not help it. She began to cry too as she drew her friend into a hug, smoothing the curls with a hand. "I don't know what to do."

She pulled away, one hand reaching out to grab the pale, strong hand Evie had pressed against her face. "Do you want some tea?"

Evie shook her head. "Don't leave me. Please…" The tears seemed to flow stronger for a moment. "Please, just stay here."

Lily nodded, watching as her friend tried to breath evenly.

Kylie chose that moment to burst into the room, whistling brightly. She stopped when she saw the two girls sitting on Evie's bed crying.

"What happened? Lily? Did James do something?" Her happiness had quickly turned to rage. "If he did something to screw this up so fast…"

Lily held up a hand, stopping her before she built up speed. "Not me. Evie."

Kylie's expression turned to shock. "What happened?"

Lily shrugged. She did not have an answer to that question yet.

Kylie's eyes narrowed. "Who did it?" She sat next to Evie, wrapping one arm around her. "Tell me who did it so I can go punch in his face."

That managed to make Evie crack a smile, though she was still crying. She shook her head. "It's nothing."

Both Lily and Kylie rejected this quickly.

"Nothing does not make you twenty minutes late to Potions. _Nothing_ does not reduce you to tears." The redhead was frowning now. "Kylie's right. We're going to have to go beat up whoever did this."

Evie shook her head. "No one did anything to me."

"Then what could it be?" Kylie looked about, as if hoping the furniture would tell her the answer. Her eyes fell upon the broom Evie had been fixing up to use as her own. "Evie."

The other girl looked at her. "What?"

"Tell me. Just tell me straight…Did Lara quit the team? Is that why you're crying? Because honestly I might start to cry too if she did."

Evie laughed loudly at this.

"Kylie," Lily groaned. "You think this is about _Quidditch_?"

The small blonde shrugged, standing and stretching. "I reckon there's not much else in the world that would make a girl like Evie cry."

Evie laughed at Lily's shocked expression. "She is right, you know. There isn't much else."

"But this isn't Quidditch, is it?"

Evie was avoiding Lily's gaze, she was sure of it. "Evie?"

"No, it isn't." She looked straight at Lily then and the pain in those grey eyes took Lily by surprise.

"So what is the much else?" Kylie still did not seem to see how serious this was. "The only things that make me cry are Quidditch, broken bones, boys, onions, and people dying…"

Lily caught her eye then, shaking her head briskly. But it was too late. Evie was crying again.

"Oh, Evie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Kylie tried to hug her friend, but Evie turned away.

"Could you guys just leave me alone for a while? I'm tired. I'd…I'd really like to sleep, that's all."

Lily and Kylie both nodded, the latter looking rather guilty.

Evie smiled through her tears and kicked of her shoes, crawling beneath her covers still wearing her robes. "Thanks."

Lily pulled the bed curtains around her, placing a charm to keep noise out on them before motioning to Kylie. They both headed downstairs somberly, not speaking as they sat down on one of the couches. Kylie curled her feet up underneath of her, laying her head in Lily's lap.

Lily sighed. "I wish we could do something."

"I know. But we don't know what's wrong. And without knowing…" Kylie trailed off.

"We can't do much of anything without knowing. We might make it worse."

"Unfortunately."

"This about Evie?" Remus had seen the girls come downstairs and now he joined them. The other boys followed.

"Evie? What's wrong with Evie?" James stopped his grumbling and sat on the arm of the couch, laying a hand on Lily's shoulder.

Lily laid her own hand over his. "We don't know."

"Didn't you see her in Potions? She was crying." Peter claimed one of the nearby chairs as his own.

James and Sirius both shook their heads.

Lily sighed. "And now she's up in her bed, sobbing."

"Why aren't you with her?"

Lily raised an eyebrow at Sirius's tone. "She kicked us out, Black, that's why. Not that it's your business. You didn't even notice she was crying."

"Don't fight. Please." Kylie's voice was strained. "I really don't think I can take it."

"Sorry." Sirius looked genuinely guilty. "I just thought that if she were crying you two would be with her."

Lily shook her head dejectedly. "She didn't want us around. She won't tell us what's wrong."

"She's been odd all week," Peter added.

"What do you mean?" James looked at his friend curiously.

"She's been exhausted and she looks like she's been crying a lot. She hasn't turned in any work all week either, at least not in the classes that I have with her. Professor Flitwick held her back after class to see if she was alright yesterday."

"You've been watching her an awful lot, mate," Sirius grumbled.

Peter turned on him. "She's my friend. I'm not the one in love with her. And if I was…" Peter blushed. "If I was, I would sure as hell care more about how she was feeling than you seem to."

Sirius's face went pale. "I don't know what you're implying, but I have a girlfriend." His voice was quiet, but threatening. With one last angry look at Peter, he stood and left the tower, heading out into the castle.

The group was silent in his wake for a moment before Kylie picked up on his last words.

"But he doesn't have a girlfriend. Not anymore."

"Looks like he forgot that part, doesn't it?" James was still staring at the portrait hole.

"I don't think he did." Remus said quietly.

"You agree with Peter then?" Lily looked to Remus for confirmation.

"Yes."

She nodded. "Me too."

"Am I the only one who didn't notice this?" James asked exasperatedly.

Lily grinned up at him. "Looks like it."

"I didn't see it either, James, if that's any comfort," Kylie said ruefully.

"Padfoot in love though?" James shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"The way he looks at her says it all." Remus smiled at James. "You _really_ didn't see it before now?"

"No!"

The other laughed at him for a moment before they all came to terms with what exactly they were discussing.

"Sirius is in love with Evie. Do you think…" Peter was too afraid to pose the question they were all thinking.

"That she's in love with him too? Who knows? Maybe." Remus ran a hand over his face. "Stranger things have happened."

"But then why is she crying?" Lily couldn't figure it out. "You would think, now that he and Lara have broken up, that she'd be happy. If she's in love with him, that is. Instead, she's sitting in our room bawling."

The others had no answer to that question. They lapsed into contemplative silence, eventually heading to dinner. There was no sign of Sirius or Evie and no one felt much like talking.

Lily did not stop thinking about her sobbing friend for one moment. After dinner, she went to check on Evie. She was asleep in her bed, her face still red and tearstained. She looked worried even in her sleep. Lily sighed and closed the curtains again, replacing her charm. She moved to her own bed, curling up on top of the covers.

She didn't like the fact that her best friend was so sad, not when she was so happy. It wasn't fair. If she could figure out why Evie was crying, maybe she could make it better. Somehow Lily knew it wasn't about the past Evie had left behind in Canada. She had heard Evie talk about her family: she had accepted that part of her life and was moving on. So what were the tears for?

She couldn't shake the thought that Sirius Black had something to do with it all.

* * *

Sirius left the dorm in a blur, blindly walking through the halls, unaware of what he was doing. Before long, he found himself at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Luckily, no one else was there. It was getting to the time of year when most couples did not feel the view was worth the cold.

Sirius did not notice it. He was fuming. Peter had blindsided him. He had expected Remus to pick up on his feelings for Evie first. James would be next, and Peter would only catch on at the last minute. That was the way it always worked.

And Remus would never have said anything in front of the girls, or anyone for that matter. He would have talked to Sirius privately, counseling him in his quiet, somewhat bemused way. Sirius had looked forward to that time; Remus' advice was always worth listening to.

Instead, Peter had revealed his feelings to what felt like the whole world. Now everyone worth telling knew. Sirius couldn't help but curse the rat.

In retrospect, Sirius knew his reaction would be more to blame for revealing this than anything Peter had said. He should have just brushed the comments off and acted like nothing was amiss. His reaction had only given them the proof they needed.

Sirius sighed. He was still angry, but really, Peter had been right. He had been so wrapped up in his own problems that he had not even noticed how upset Evie was. He did not know what could have made her so upset.

His only thought was making it stop. Thinking of her crying…he had held her once while she cried. He knew the brave face she would wear; how she would bite her lip and try to suck the sobs back in. He knew how bad it would have to get before she showed anything. He knew how painful it was for her to show even the smallest measure of weakness.

He looked out over the grounds and ran a hand through his hair. When had he become so attuned to her? It was still a mystery to him. When had it become impossible for him to think of life without her? Suddenly he remembered something Lara had said earlier. He slumped against the tower wall and slid to the ground, putting his head in his hands. He had been so angry with her for breaking up with him, he'd barely heard what she was saying. Really, it was more the sigh she'd made when she saw Evie rounding the corner that made him connect the dots. And then she had told him to think about it.

Was his affection for Evie so palpable that Lara had broken up with him over it? He wondered if she had said anything to Evie. Maybe that was why she was so upset.

He shook his head and almost laughed at that thought. As if anything Lara said to Evie would have the power to get her so upset. Even if Lara had confronted Evie with what she had seen, Evie would have just laughed it off. Hadn't she told him herself how undesirable he was? She'd obviously reevaluated what she's said about not wanting to be his friend but he had no doubt it would go no further than that. She would never look at him as anything more than someone to pal around with.

So Lara could not be behind her tears. Was someone else to blame? A Slytherin, perhaps? They hadn't been happy to see Gryffindor win the last match. But Evie would have dealt with that easily. She would not spill tears over a few muttered curses. And he was sure that if someone did try to hex her, the signs of her retaliation would be clear.

What could it be? Sirius was at a loss. The girl he loved was lying in her bed sobbing and he had no idea why. He sat in the tower for another two hours, running through lists of possible answers. In the end, he came up blank. He headed back to the Gryffindor Tower, taking note of the seventh year girls' absence in the common room before bypassing James and Peter and heading to his own bed. He ignored Remus' look of pity and closed the bed curtains, though he remained sitting.

All night he had pushed down the part of him that kept going back to Evie's secrets. That part said it could have something to do with where she was really from, what she was really doing at Hogwarts. He had not allowed his mind to dwell in that place for long. Now, it was all that was left.

All the same, Sirius crushed it. He trusted Evie. He had no choice about that, really. Even if she turned out to be different than what he thought she was (all things warm, funny, beautiful, kind, and generous), he would go on trusting her. He loved her. And for Sirius, the two went hand in hand.

* * *

The next day, Evie's seat remained empty. The teachers made quiet note of it, though none of them seemed surprised. The others made their way through class as usual, though the Marauders were much quieter than was typical. Lily and Sirius were caught several times staring at Evie's empty spot, lines of worry creasing both their faces.

Lily had found Evie's bed empty when she had gone to wake her that morning. She had spent several frantic moments looking for the girl before she noticed that her broom was missing. Evie had apparently taken to the skies. It did not surprise Lily, though she wished her friend would talk to her.

Much like Sirius, she had gone through her own list of possible causes the night before. None of them made sense. She was frustrated; Lily, too used to knowing all the answers, did not handle confusion well. Still, she knew enough to realize that Evie would only come to her when she was ready. Seeking her out would do no good if she had no idea what to say.

The boys did not see this as clearly: James wanted to send out a search party and Remus wanted to go to McGonagall. Lily had barely managed to convince them not to when Evie reappeared. She walked quietly through the common room where they had all gathered after the last class, not stopping to talk with anyone. Sirius made to follow her, but stopped himself when he saw Lily shake her head.

"She needs to come to us." Lily did not like the idea, but she knew she was right. They would get nowhere posing questions and muttering comforting words.

"I don't like it." James said, his brown furrowed in anger.

"None of us do," Remus grimaced. "Evie's our friend. We should be able to fix this."

"Sirius…" Peter hesitated. He had not said anything to Sirius about what had occurred the night before; no one had. He was not sure if Sirius was still upset with him. "You don't think this has something to do with what Dumbledore…"

Sirius cut him off before he could finish. "No." He shook his head. "I trust Evie completely. If it were that, she would go see Dumbledore. She hasn't, so it has to be something else."

Remus nodded. "I agree. Evie obviously trusts Dumbledore. They talk. If she was upset about that, she would have gone to see him."

"They talk?" Lily was confused.

James nodded. "We saw them walking out on the lawn one night. They were discussing something important. Or at least that's what it looked like."

"From where?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at him like that, Lil. It was from the tower window." Remus smiled. Lily knew them too well.

She shrugged. "You never know."

"You really think we would spy on Evie?" Peter seemed to have forgotten the fact that they had planned to just that not too long ago.

Lily smiled. "No. I just know you like to go sneaking off under that cloak. Who knows what you get up to."

"You told her about the cloak?" Sirius was momentarily distracted.

"No!" James protested.

"Oh," Sirius looked away, preoccupied again.

"How do you know?" James turned to Lily, confused.

She rolled her eyes. "Please. The number of times I've seen you slip under that thing? I'm surprised the whole school doesn't know by now."

Remus laughed. "Not everyone is as observant as you, Lil."

She laughed too. "That's very true."

"What else do you know?" James eyed her suspiciously.

"What else should I know?"

He had no response to that and so simply smiled, wrapping an arm around her. "I always knew you were smart. "

She pulled out of his grip and punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Thanks." She stood and picked up her school bag.

"Don't go!" James tugged at her hand, making her laugh for a moment before turning serious once more.

"I need to get some work done. I'm going to the library. You're free to join me…"

He snorted, as she had known he would, and let her go. It was a Friday after all. She headed out into the hall, looking around for a moment before heading in the opposite direction of the library. She had no intention of studying.

The boys had given her a useful piece of information. If Dumbledore was as close to Evie as they implied, he would want to know what was going on with her. And maybe he could give her some clue as to what was wrong with her new best friend.

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	21. Resisting

**Disclaimer: All you recognize is JK Rowlings, all else is mine!**

**Hey guys! So this is much shorter than usual, but the chapter break forced itself on me. Consider it a holiday treat. Also, if you have the time please check out Snow, my other new story. At the moment it is just a one-shot and if anything will remain a series of one-shots. It's about Evie and her favorite sister, inspired by the snow storm we had last week! Let me know what you think and maybe I'll write more!**

**Thanks go to pandapops, xxbabyxox, CelticPuzzleStrangerRanger, lovecdc, and SerenadeInTheMoonlight for their reviews! Thanks also to those who have favorited this story and put it on their alert lists! You guys rock!**

**Happy Holidays! Enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

Lara had been on the lookout for Evie ever since their moment in the bathroom. She'd meant what she'd said: if the older Gryffindor needed to talk, she'd be there. But Evie had not appeared. At lunch that Friday, Lara had looked down the table to see the Marauders and Lily looking worried. Lara's own brow had furrowed with worry and concern had turned her lips into a thin line. When she excused herself to her own friends, they had assumed it was because she was off to cry some more over Sirius Black.

Instead, she'd headed to the one place she knew Evie would be: the Quidditch pitch.

Sure enough, there was a figure in the sky, flying loops around the empty stands. Lara sighed. She was conflicted: part of her wanted to let Evie continue to search for the oblivion she so obviously wanted. The other part knew that was a bad idea. Of course, that was the part that won out. She summoned her broom and hopped on, quickly gaining on the other girl.

Evie looked at her with surprise when she drew even, pausing for a moment before going into a dive that Lara did not even try to imitate. Instead she stayed where she was, waiting for Evie's curiosity to bring her back.

It took only minutes.

"What do you want?" Her voice was hoarse; she'd been crying for hours.

"I told you: I know how difficult it is to stop liking him."

Evie stared at her for a moment before a corner of her mouth twitched into a half smile. "So you did."

"Not going to well, is it?"

Evie sighed. "It's horrible." She flew over to the nearest stand, dismounting and sitting on one of the benches. This time, Lara followed.

"I can't stop crying. I…" she paused and assessed Lara. "You know why I transferred here?"

Lara nodded. "You lost your family."

"That's right. But the scary part is, I'm not sure I even cried this much when I had to leave them behind." A spasm of pain crossed Evie's face. "I mean, I cried. But not so much all at once. Not like this."

She turned to look Lara in the eyes. Her own were wide and confused. "I don't understand it."

Lara had not expected this much trust so soon. But there was a bond there. Maybe it came from falling for the same boy. Maybe it was because they had both seen each other at their worst. Whatever it was, Evie had let down her wall. Lara drew a deep breath and reached out to grab her hand.

"That's because it doesn't make any sense."

It was the truth, plain and simple. And somehow, it had been the right thing to say. Evie smiled.

"Thank you!" She laughed, a nervous imitation of the laughter Lara had come to know in the weeks past. "And here I thought it was just me who thought that."

Lara shook her head. "No, I get it."

Evie nodded and looked out across the pitch. "I knew you would."

They sat in silence for some time while Lara worked up the nerve to ask the question at the crux of the whole thing. In the end, she didn't even have to ask. It was Evie who broke the silence.

"I _do_ like him, don't I?" The question was rhetorical. "I shouldn't, but I do."

It was Lara's turn to look at her curiously. "Why shouldn't you?" When she thought about Evie and Sirius together, it made perfect sense. No one else could put him in his place like this girl. And she never saw Evie smile as much as she did with Sirius with anyone else. She said as much.

"If only it were that easy," was Evie's only response.

"Isn't it?"

"There's so much more to it, to us, than that, already. If we got involved…" She shook her head. "It would end in disaster."

Lara got the impression that the other girl was talking in half-truths. "Care to explain?"

But the question came too late. The wall was already up in Evie's eyes again. Lara saw it there and sighed internally. So much for that.

Still, it had been worth a shot. "Well, I guess you'll have to figure out how to resist him." She smiled wryly at Evie. "Good luck with that. I don't know anyone but Lily who's managed it yet and everyone knows that's just because she's always been meant for James. I doubt even she would be able to stand up to the full brunt of his charm."

Evie laughed at that, clearly picturing Sirius trying to seduce the love of his best friend's life. "If Lily can do it, so can I."

Lara snorted at that idea. "He's not going to leave you alone now. He'll be showering you with all of his attention. It'll be a lot harder to ignore."

"Any advice?"

"Don't look him in the eyes. A lot of girls will tell you that blue eyes are the color most impossible to resist, but that's because they've never looked into Sirius' eyes. Trust me, looking into them when he's got his charm turned on is like drowning."

Evie laughed again. "Drowning? Doesn't sound too pleasant."

"Oh, it is when he's the reason for it." Lara shook her head. "There's no describing it."

Evie frowned. "You still really like him, don't you?"

Lara smiled bitterly. "Of course. He's Sirius Black."

"But you broke up with him. Because of me."

Lara couldn't really deny that. But it sounded so bad when you put it like that. That wasn't really it at all. She tried to explain. "Yes and no. I broke up with him because of how you both feel about each other. But I didn't break up with him for you or even him. I broke up with him because for me, staying with a guy just because I liked him wasn't enough. Who wants to stay in a relationship as one sided as that?"

"From what I hear, a lot of girls do, at least when the guy is Sirius Black."

Lara laughed. "True. But I'd like to think I have more self respect than those girls."

"I can understand that." Evie turned to Lara. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't come along…"

"He'd have broken up with me soon enough. Maybe we would have lasted three months. Maybe. But we wouldn't have stayed together."

Evie sighed. "Still, I am sorry."

Lara squeezed her hand. "I know. Now, if you really want to beat this thing, what you really need is a wall around you. Does Lily know?"

Evie shook her head.

"Then tell her. And Kylie too. They'll keep you from being an idiot. And I'll help out when I can. I'd say tell Remus too, but he might try and set you up instead. You run less of a risk of that with Lily. She'll side with you. And Kylie will do anything to keep Sirius on his toes. It'll be a game for her."

"Anything else?"

Lara considered for a moment. "I'd tell you to quit Quidditch, but we can't afford to lose you. So…" she hesitated. This suggestion might sound a little strange. "What about finding someone else to date? Sirius doesn't usually interfere with…"

"No!" Evie's voice was strained. "I don't want to date _anyone_!"

Lara shrugged. "Just a thought. If you're not into that, you could …"

They sat on the stands talking until the sun began to set. Lara realized then that they'd both skipped two classes. With a groan, she stood and said goodbye to Evie. She left her sitting there as she flew back to the ground, storing her broom and climbing up the hill to the castle. She'd looked back one last time before she went inside.

Evie was in the air again, flying high. Lara sighed. Maybe it would be good if she tired herself out. She had certainly looked like she needed sleep. And she would need energy if she were going to try to resist Sirius. That was going to take some major willpower. Lara sighed and shook her head. Whatever the outcome, this was turning into quite the interesting term.

* * *

Later that night, after she walked back from her meeting with Dumbledore, Lily Evans had the same thought. She did not know what was going to happen. She was sure that the ending would surprise everyone. But after everything was done with (and she could not even pin down what exactly that everything was), no one would be denying that their term had been full of intrigue and mystery.

She sighed and quietly spoke the password to the dozing Fat Lady, hopping through the portrait hole with practiced ease. James and Remus were still sitting by the fire. She passed them just as Evie had done, not even daring to look at them once for fear her resolve would break down. There was no sign of Sirius or Peter.

Chelsea and Francine were talking quietly in the girls' room. Kylie was missing; she had most likely decided to spend the evening with people from another house (Lily knew she had a cousin in Hufflepuff who was a good friend). She couldn't be blamed for avoiding the still developing drama. The curtains around Evie's bed were closed.

Lily tried to part them the normal way first; she was not surprised when she had to resort to spell work to pry them open. When they finally did open, she slid in quietly next to Evie, who did not seem in the least surprised to see her. Instead, the other girl quietly recast the spells to seal the curtains. No one would hear a word they spoke.

"Evie…" Lily was still reluctant to make the first move here. Evie could easily close up for good if she went too far. Nonetheless, she had Dumbledore's advice to guide her. "I'm so sorry. About everything. I know I probably don't know it all – at least the headmaster's under the impression that your keeping things hidden, even from him – but I am so sorry. I don't know _what_ I would do, if what happened to you, happened to me."

There. She'd done it. She'd taken the dive. Still, she couldn't look Evie in the eyes.

"Lily?"

She had to look up at that tone. Evie looked shaken and confused.

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

Lily gulped. There was no point in holding anything back. The headmaster had told her to go with her instincts. If there were ever a time to tell the truth, it was now.

"He told me the truth. About you. About the time travel."

Evie's eyes widened. This had not been what she'd expected. Not at all.

* * *

**Please review!**

**Coming soon: several very interesting conversations with the headmaster...**


	22. In Which Many Things Are Revealed

**Disclaimer: All you recognize is JK Rowlings, all else is mine!**

**Hey guys! So this took me much longer than expected! I'm sorry for the delay- I hope all the conversation, tears, and sappy friendship moments make up for it!**

**Thanks go to xxbabyxox, nartyteek, CelticPuzzleStrangerRanger, Tiryn, nessa1998, oxXMidnightSunXxo, and littledhampir13 for their reviews! Thanks also to those who have favorited this story and put it on their alert lists! You guys rock!**

**Enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

_Dumbledore was sitting at his desk reading when Lily entered his office. He had not been expecting any visitors that afternoon. He was due at the Ministry for a meeting in several hours. Still, Miss Evans had not been made Head Girl for nothing. If she thought a problem pressing enough to bring it straight to him, it was probably quite serious. _

"_Sir, I hope I'm not disturbing you." She looked nervous, distressed even._

"_Not at all, Miss Evans. Please sit." He gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk. She perched on it hesitantly, wringing her hands in her lap. "What brings you here?"_

_She took a deep breath. "It's about Evie. Evelyn. Miss Montgomery, sir."_

_This was unexpected. "I know who you are referring to. What seems to be amiss?"_

"_She won't stop crying. It's horrible." Lily's eyes were anxious. "Evie's not the type of girl who cries much. Or at least she doesn't seem to be. But yesterday she started crying and I don't think she's stopped since. She's missed classes and earlier this week she wasn't handing in any work. She's not herself, sir."_

_Dumbledore held up a hand, worried that if he did not cut her off she would not stop. "And you do not know why she is crying?"_

_Lily shook her head. "No idea. Some of the boys reckon its something to do with her and Sirius…" The look on Dumbledore's face made her stop. "Sir? Is there something wrong."_

_He was almost too preoccupied cursing himself to hear her. He frowned. Sirius Black? It did seem to make sense. He remembered Minerva telling him she'd spotted them together several times, though she'd put it down towards Quidditch. Surely Miss Montgomery had not been so foolish… He stopped himself before that thought went too far. The several times he had spoken to Evelyn she had seemed a well-reasoned, confident young witch. All the reports he'd heard from the professors told him the same. Still, love, and even young infatuation, afflicted even the most logical minds. He shook his head._

"_Sir?"_

"_Excuse me, Miss Evans. I was merely considering what I could and could not tell you." He surveyed her over the rims of his glasses. She looked confused, but also intrigued. "I've heard much the same from Evelyn's professors: they're concerned. As am I." He smiled at the shock on her face. "Yes, even the headmaster does grow concerned for particular students. Especially students like Evie."_

"_Because of her parents? Sir, I don't understand. Sirius overheard you talking to her about something. I know she's not telling the truth. She admitted that much. But she said she couldn't say anything else."_

_Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. Obviously, Evelyn trusted Lily. Respected her even. To admit that much implied a strong bond, a sign that Evelyn did not want to forfeit their friendship. Even that was worrisome. She was growing attached. _

_He sighed. He had expected that this would happen. Still, he would not have prevented it. Messing with time was a dangerous thing. Evelyn was there for a reason, he was sure of that. Whatever that reason was, it was no device of hers. She was as confused as he was, perhaps more so. It might not be a bad thing for her to have one person to trust. And Lily Evans was one of the few he trusted enough to keep her secret._

_He considered her for a moment longer. She looked anxious, but unafraid of his gaze. Soon enough she would enter into the war itself. He could not protect his students forever._

"_Miss Evans, what I am about to tell you is of grave importance. Were you not already in Miss Montgomery's confidence I would not consider this. If I did not have the utmost faith in your integrity, I would not consider this. As it happens, you seem to have both my trust and hers. Still, I will not lay this burden on you if you are unwilling." He paused, waiting for a response._

"_She told me you told her not to tell anyone… Sirius overheard you warning her. It's dangerous, isn't it?"_

"_Very, though perhaps you will not see why right away." He still waited for her answer._

"_If it will help…" She paused, taking a gulp. "If it will help Evie for me to know, if she'll stop crying – then I'd like to know. She's my friend."_

_Dumbledore nodded. He had expected nothing less._

"_What do you know about time, Miss Evans?"_

"_Time?" Lily looked confused._

"_You are already aware that Miss Montgomery is not from where she says she is; I'm asking you to consider the possibility of the when as well."_

_Lily was silent. Dumbledore gave her a moment before continuing._

"_There is no trick step that will give a student immediate entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. Miss Montgomery did not arrive at this castle under any normal circumstance. She was not transported here by Floo powder. She did not fly here. You are aware that she could not have Apparated within these grounds. Yet somehow Miss Montgomery landed in the boys' dormitory in Gryffindor Tower." _

_Lily still did not make a noise, simply staring at him speechlessly. He went on._

"_Evelyn was knocked unconscious by the journey. When she awoke, the first thing she did was ask Miss Pomfrey the date. The answer caused her to faint."_

"_Evie's from a different time?" Lily asked breathlessly. Dumbledore could practically see the gears spinning in her head as different pieces of the puzzle fit together._

"_Yes."_

"_But…how?"_

"_The second time she awoke Miss Montgomery informed us that she had been playing around with a time turner belonging to a friend's brother. They made a mistake and thus Miss Montgomery was sent back in time."_

"_Back? She's from the future?"_

_Dumbledore nodded._

"_So she never lived in Canada? Her parents aren't dead?"_

"_No, she never lived in Canada. She went to Hogwarts. In her own time she was a Gryffindor."_

"_But her parents?"_

"_What you must understand, Miss Evans, is that for all intensive purposes, your friend is an orphan. She has no family that knows of her at the moment, nor can she."_

_It took Lily a moment to digest this. "She hasn't been born yet. She's not even really alive yet." Her brow furrowed. "I mean, she is, she's just not where she's supposed to be. But…" She looked at him, horrified. "That's even worse. They're all still alive? Her parents? Her sisters? Her friends? Waiting for her to come home? Somewhere out there," she gestured with her hands, "out there in the future?"_

_Dumbledore considered this for a moment. "We have no way of knowing whether or not they are cognizant of her absence. For all we know, time has simply frozen."_

"_But they could be? She could just be missing?"_

_Dumbledore nodded. _

"_That's what she's afraid of, isn't it? She's worried that they're out there waiting for her, and that she'll never get to go home."_

"_That question you'd have to ask her yourself," Dumbledore smiled slightly. "I for one would feel better knowing she had a friend to discuss such matters with."_

_Lily nodded distractedly. "She knows things, doesn't she? About our future?"_

"_You must not ask her about that Miss Evans," he said sternly. "Nothing but harm can come from it."_

"_But if we could prevent things..."_

"_We do not know what would happen, were we to act on her knowledge. We might be able to prevent disaster, this is true, but there is no knowing what other harms we would be causing. When things like this happen, one can never be sure what the outcome will be. It may be the death of us all."_

_Lily nodded slowly. "I understand, sir."_

"_You should also know that this very knowledge is also what puts her in grave danger. If certain forces knew what Miss Montgomery was capable of revealing… there is no telling what they would do to extract it from her..."_

"…and that's what he was talking about, when Sirius was eavesdropping, wasn't it? It's nothing to do with you being dangerous or anything like that. It's all about what you know."

It took a moment for Lily's words to sink in. The two girls had been sitting in Evie's bed for over an hour, going over the details of Lily's conversation with the headmaster. Evie was still trying to process what exactly Dumbledore had done.

"Evie?" Lily laid a hand on her knee. "Are you alright? I'm sorry if I just dropped all of this on you."

"You dropping this on me?" Evie was surprised. "I'm still waiting for you to freak out about the fact that I'm from the future."

Lily shrugged. "Once I thought about it, it made sense. You know so much about this place that you have no right to know and there are these things that you don't know about that don't make any sense. I mean, don't get me wrong, I was really freaked out at first. But it's not really so crazy."

"Really?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're forgetting. I was ten when Sev told me that magic was real. Now that was a shocker. Since then…well it takes a lot more to surprise me now." She smiled. "I'm glad Dumbledore told me- you do need someone to talk to about this."

Evie reached out to give her friend a hug. "I'm glad too." And strangely enough, she was. She'd been terrified when Lily had first told her. But she trusted her. There was something about Lily Evans, some indefinable quality that reassured Evie.

Lily pulled away from Evie then. "So I guess we were wrong, about why you were crying." She laughed, running a hand through her long hair. "We all thought it was something to do with Sirius. But that's crazy!"

Evie felt the bottom drop out of her stomach and the tears well up in her eyes again. She turned away from Lily, trying to wipe them away hurriedly. She wasn't fast enough.

"Or is it? Evie?"

"I didn't mean for this to happen. And I don't know when it did. All I know is that I feel like… like I don't even know anymore."

Lily sighed. "Oh Evie…"

"I don't know what to do. Lara says he's in love with me. That's why she broke up with him, you know. She said she could see the way he looked at me."

"You talked to her?"

Evie nodded. "She's the one who made me realize all this. I'd been denying it up until then."

Lily took a moment to process all this. "When was this?"

"Yesterday. Before Potions."

"Before you started crying."

"When I started crying."

"I'm going to kick her ass."

"No!" Evie grabbed Lily's arm. "She didn't say it to be mean. She doesn't know… It should be a good thing, Lily. I should be _happy_." She shook her head, looking Lily in the eyes. "We'd make so much sense, for all that we would be horrible together."

Lily nodded. "You would. I understand."

"But it can't happen. No matter how much I like him. No matter how much he likes me."

Evie couldn't stop these tears. This was what had been making her cry. The things she had lost; the things she was losing. She was caught between two worlds: she could not have one without losing the other.

Lily seemed to pick up on this. "You would still leave. You have to go home."

Evie nodded. "It's where I'm supposed to be. If I… if Sirius and I… I would still have to leave and it would hurt a million times worse than it's already going to." She sighed. "I should never have talked to anyone. I should have been mean and antisocial and then you all would have left me alone. But I was stupid. I opened my mouth and I became friends with you. I was stupid and now we're all going to have to pay for it."

"You weren't stupid – you were just human. No normal person wants to be all alone."

"I can't stay here, Lily, I can't. But now I don't want to go either. It's tearing me apart. On one hand there's my family, all my friends, my old life. On the other there's all of you- and that's family too. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Lily had started to cry too. "I want to tell you to stay – I don't want to lose you. But I understand why you can't. I don't know what you should do."

They spent a few more minutes like this, both crying, before Lily laughed.

"What?"

"This is what I was supposed to be stopping," she gestured to their tears. "Instead I just joined in!"

Evie laughed too. "Well crying with you is better than crying alone."

They smiled at each other for a moment before Evie became serious.

"I've never had a friend like you before, Lily. I've always had my sisters – Julie especially – but never a best friend." She tried to wipe the tears off her face. "I'll lose more than Sirius when I go – I'll lose this too."

Lily sighed. "Can we not think about that? We have time, right? Dumbledore said getting a time turner would take at least another two months, maybe more."

Evie nodded. "We have two months."

"At least."

"Lily… I don't know if we should act like that. Maybe we should just stop being friends. You can pretend Dumbledore told you something really awful, like stay away or something. Then you would all have to hate me."

Lily shook her head. "I'm not going to pretend to hate you. I've never had a best friend either – not a real one. Sev doesn't count; he wasn't who I thought he was. But you have always been who I thought you were. Even when you were lying. I'm not going to lose that."

Evie sighed. "It's just going to make it worse."

"Maybe. But what is that thing they say: 'better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.' It's got to be the same with friendship."

"I guess. And I have to say, having you hate me would suck."

"Not to mention the fact that Sirius would never leave you alone, no matter what I say."

Evie frowned. "I don't know if I can handle him hounding me."

"He's going to, now that Lara's broken up with him."

"That's what she said. She warned me about his eyes."

Lily's own eyes narrowed. "She counted without me. I'll protect you."

"She didn't actually," Evie said, smiling. "She said you would help. Kylie too."

Lily nodded. "We will. We'll have to think up a strategy."

"I'm all for that, but first… Lily, you know no one else can know about this, right? Not even James?"

"Dumbledore said the same thing."

"But Lily, I'm saying it again, because I want you to know I trust James. I would trust him with this. Remus and Peter too. I would tell them if…"

"If you thought they could keep it from Sirius."

Evie nodded. "If he knows, he'll either shut himself off from me or try to convince me that it's still ok. And I don't think I could cope with either scenario."

Lily nodded. "I get it. I don't like keeping secrets from James though."

"I know. And I don't like making you. When I leave, you'll tell him. You can tell him you swore to me that you wouldn't tell a soul. He'll understand."

"Let's not talk about you leaving. Not yet. Let's talk about something else. Something unrelated to the future. Or James. Or Sirius."

Evie thought for a moment. "What about Charms? Did you write that essay yet? I have no idea how to fill that much parchment."

"I know! Sometimes I think Flitwick is mad!"

"It's because he's new. He thinks none of us will take him seriously because he's so small and young."

And just like that, the tears were stopped. Lily's new knowledge did not seem to weigh too heavily on her; it was as though she and Evie now shared the burden. Only time would tell what consequences that night would have.

For now, the concerns of normal schoolgirls were enough to preoccupy them.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it! Again, sorry it took so long to post- I feel terrible! Please review!**

**Coming soon: Sirius the flirt!**


	23. Tell Me About It

**So. It's taken me long enough to update, right? **

**Disclaimer- As always, don't own anything but Evie and the plot!**

* * *

"You know I've been here a month?"

Lily looked up from her plate, working it out in her mind. "Weird."

The two girls were sitting by themselves at the Gryffindor table, quietly eating their lunches. Exhausted by the revelations and tears of the night before, they'd woken late and slowly made their way down to the Great Hall. Lily had shot James a look and shook her head when they'd first walked in and since then the others had given them a wide berth.

"Isn't it? Time, I guess." Evie gave a weak smile.

Lily shook her head in amusement. "Works in mysterious ways."

Evie laughed quickly, though Lily saw her wince briefly. They were still in dangerous territory and Lily knew they wouldn't be able to go much longer without discussing it.

Evie seemed to realize it too. She set down her fork and took a deep breath. "So, what next?"

"Should we talk?" Lily was hesitant, unwilling to push the other girl too far.

Evie nodded. "It'd probably be a good idea. Want to head somewhere quiet? Outside would have been better but I don't think that's going to happen."

Lily looked up to the enchanted ceiling. The weather seemed to be reflecting their moods: it had grown dark while they were eating and rain seemed imminent. "We could find a classroom?"

Evie started to agree and then realized something. "If I don't have to feign ignorance anymore, why don't I show you somewhere better?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "You do know that I've lived with the Marauders for six years right? I'm not sure there's much new you could show me."

Evie grinned, almost evilly. "Ever heard of the Room of Requirement?"

* * *

Sirius had spent the night wandering the castle, aimlessly walking the halls and halfheartedly avoiding the caretaker. He wasn't really sure what to think of himself anymore. For one thing, love had never been on his mind before. Sure, he'd thought of it in terms of James and Lily. But he'd scoffed at silly girls who though they loved him; at the romances muggles loved to watch at the theater. It was something silly, something that turned his best friend mad and girls madder. The one thing he'd been sure of was that it wasn't for him.

And he still wasn't sure it was.

Yes, he thought he might be falling in love with Evie. The _might_ was already starting to slip away. But if he tried to say it aloud, if he pictured himself telling her, it just sounded stupid.

He had tried to say it, standing on top of the Astronomy tower:

"I love you. I love Evie. Sirius Black loves Evelyn Montgomery."

It had made him snort. Not that it was funny, really. Just that it sounded so strange. He couldn't remember the last time he'd said it or, for that matter, if he ever had. Which probably wasn't a good sign.

He'd given up after that and settled down to brood for the rest of the night, not even noticing how cold it was getting.

Luckily, James seemed to sense his mood when he appeared the next morning at breakfast, quickly suggesting a one on one Quidditch match.

"You look like hell mate," James said once they'd reached the pitch.

Sirius merely grunted in reply.

"When did you make it to bed?" When Sirius did not respond, James asked him incredulously if he had made it to bed.

"No," was the gruff answer.

"I'm not going to get anything more out of you, am I?" James asked, rolling his eyes and laughing when Sirius grunted again. "Fine, then let's just play."

They took to the air, tossing around the quaffle and trying to score on each other. It wasn't long before James was winning, 15-2.

"I give up." James had just scored on him again and Sirius was tired. He flew over to one of the stands and got off his broom, slumping down on one of the benches.

"Give up?" James had followed him and was hovering in mid air, tossing the quaffle back and forth in his hands.

"Yes," Sirius groaned, not even caring that his friend was so obviously gloating.

James seemed to notice that, coming to sit next to him. "Are you going to let me in on what's put you in such a state or am I going to have to guess?"

Sirius didn't know how to respond. He hadn't really thought of how to put it into words. As the night before had shown, he wasn't exactly Shakespeare these days.

"Ok let me see." James started to tick options off on his fingers. "You could be having a nervous breakdown because someone finally broke up with you. Or because you're worried that people have finally realized exactly how unattractive you are. Or, and I think this is the best bet, you could be traumatized due to an unfortunate sighting of Snivellus in the nude. Because other than that I'm not sure what could put you in such a mood."

The last bit had made Sirius laugh a little, though he could still feel the large knot in his stomach.

"I wish that's all it was," he grumbled.

James whistled. "Worse than Snivellus? You really do have it bad."

Sirius shook his head. "You don't even know."

"Evie?"

Sirius sighed. "Is this what it was like with Lily?"

James laughed. "I doubt it. I can't remember ever _not_ being in love with her. You and Evie, this seems more sudden. Didn't you just hate her?"

"I love Evie." Sirius let it out in a big rush, emboldened by James' honesty and easy company.

James let out a loud laugh. "Love? Already? Maybe back it up a bit there mate."

Sirius started to shake his head. "That's the thing. I can't. And it sounds so _ridiculous_ when I say it, like I'm a really terrible actor or something."

"You are a terrible actor." James began to smile, but stopped when he saw the look on Sirius' face. "You're serious?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I should think so."

"You sure? Because the old Sirius…"

"The old Sirius what? Would never say the word love? Would laugh if someone told them he was going to fall in love? Would jump off a tower before falling in love? Trust me, Prongs, I know."

James shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Wow. I don't know what else to say. Just… wow." He sat there mulling it over for a minute. "And you're sure? I mean, you've never been in love and you've never really thought about it so maybe you're confused?"

Sirius laughed. "Confused? I feel like I have an elephant sitting on my chest. I can't breath half the time and I feel like I'm going out of my mind. I try thinking about her and I can't think. It just stops."

James shrugged. "That could still be lust."

Sirius turned to him. "Lust? James, I know lust. This is something else. I want to be with her every second, I want to know what she's thinking. I can't focus on anything, not even a damned game of Quidditch because all I want is to know she's alright, that's she's happy and not crying anymore." Sirius ran a hand over his face and James suddenly realized how much older his friend looked. "James, this girl is driving me mad."

James looked at him closely before leaning back and closing his eyes. "You really do have it bad."

Sirius laughed bitterly. "Tell me about it."

* * *

I am truly sorry for the long wait- and the terribly short tidbit you just got. The next chapter should be longer and far juicier than this one (Lily and Evie have a lot to discuss after all)!

**Please review, if you haven't all disappeared in my absence! **


	24. Explanations

**I feel it might be necessary to do a bit of explaining on this update, since it isn't really meant to get people's hopes up too high. I've had this chapter (really half of a chapter- I'd originally planned to include more Marauder action) sitting on my computer for nearly a year now and I keep looking back at it, wondering if I'll ever pick it up. This whole story is kind of like that- always there in the back of my mind, unfinished and nagging me to complete it. The thing is, the story I originally had planned would probably take me months, if not years, to finish. And I'm not sure I can do that.**

**So what then is the point of this chapter? Mostly I feel bad leaving the loyal readers who've been waiting for the story to continue with no answers. I know there are some stories on this site that I check every so often just in case by some miracle they've been updated. The other reason I'm doing this is to gauge response. I've yet to completely abandon Evie and Sirius (and there's a long, highly detailed outline for the rest of the story that is also haunting me) and I'd like to see if there would be anyone continuing this journey with me. I'm not making any promises, but given some encouragement/a kick in the ass I might at least be able to complete an abbreviated version.**

**Let me know what you think! As always, much love to my readers and reviewers!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own what isn't Rowling's.**

"Alright. Let's start from the beginning."

Lily and Evie were sitting facing each other on the floor of the Room of Requirement. There was a fire crackling away in the grate and each girl had a warm quilt wrapped around her shoulders. The room had become small and cozy, complete with a multitude of pillows and comfortable looking armchairs. There was even a box of tissues on the mantle. It was the ideal place to share confidences.

Lily hadn't known of the room and its properties, just as Evie had suspected. The girls had laughed over it for a moment: it was yet another secret they would keep from the boys, albeit a happier one than the others.

Evie had made Lily swear once more that she wouldn't tell James. It wasn't that she didn't trust her, she explained, it was just that she knew how difficult it would be for Lily, keeping a secret from someone that she loved. After all, she'd seen her father do it a hundred times before.

With that promise out of the way, Evie was ready to tell Lily everything.

"The first things you should know, Lily, are things no one else knows. Not even Dumbledore."

Lily looked at her friend carefully. "He said I shouldn't ask too much about the future."

Evie shook her head. "It has nothing to do with you," she said, ignoring the twinge of guilt that said the safety of her future had everything to do with Lily Evans.

Lily nodded. "I guess it's alright then."

Evie swallowed once hard. It was going to be difficult to stop once she started.

"My dad's an Unspeakable." She paused. "That's the first thing."

"He works in the Department of Mysteries?"

Evie nodded. "It has a lot to do with how I got here."

"Dumbledore said you were playing with a friend's brother's time turner." Lily hadn't expected to be confused right away.

Evie sighed. "I lied. The real story… it's more confusing. I don't even understand it." She didn't give Lily a chance to respond. "I've told you about my sister Julie. When it happened, I was with her. Jules and I were stopping in to see Dad at the Ministry and, well, she dared me to open a door." Evie shook her head; it sounded so ridiculous. "When I did, I fell. Only it wasn't like I fell and hit something; I just fell."

"Through time?" Lily had moved past the fact that Evie lied to Dumbledore. Listening to Evie's story, it was understandable.

"I think so. It was like I fell into this void and for a while," Evie shivered, remembering the emptiness, "for a while I was stuck there. And then I fell into the dormitory. Or at least that's what everyone told me. The first thing I remember is the hospital wing."

"James and Sirius found you. It was Remus who thought to get Madame Pomfrey."

Evie nodded. "I think it was Sirius I heard first. He was complaining to Professor McGonagall." She smiled. "Which very much fits now."

Lily smiled as well. "He's always complaining to her about something. Or teasing her." The look on Evie's face reminded her that Sirius wasn't a very safe topic either. "You must have been terrified."

Evie shook her head. "Not at first. I couldn't see, and I recognized Madame Pomfrey's voice. I knew I was at Hogwarts."

Lily gasped. "You didn't realize the time had changed. Not until you asked the date."

"No. I thought I was safe. And then I saw how much younger they both looked and…" She shrugged. "It just fit."

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to ask this, but when exactly are you from?"

"It was August 8th, 2017 the day I came back. I was born February 7th, 2000."

"I'm 40 years older than you?"

Evie laughed. "I guess so, technically."

"Now that's weird. And Dumbledore, McGonagall, Pomfrey, they're all still around?"

Evie hesitated. "Lily…"

Lily put up a hand. "You can't say, I understand." She paused, trying to think of innocent questions to ask. "You were a Gryffindor?"

Evie nodded. "I lived in the same room we do know."

"And you've been pretending this whole time not to know where things are?"

"Unfortunately."

Lily shook her head. "I can't imagine."

"It's been slow going." Evie smiled. "Especially when I want to sneak off to the kitchens."

Lily laughed. "And how exactly did you discover all these secrets without the Marauder's around?"

Evie smiled. "I used to wreak a lot more havoc. And I had good friends." She frowned. Teddy had been the one to show her the Room of Requirement, a secret his godfather had revealed to him in his fifth year. He'd had a map too, one she was relatively sure some boys she knew were in possession of now. But Lily couldn't know that.

"You were a troublemaker? I feel like you would be a prefect."

Evie wrinkled her nose. "Several of my sisters were. One more would have been too many."

"But you played Quidditch?"

"Yes. I was supposed to be captain." She frowned. "I wonder who will take my place if…" She trailed off.

Lily reached out for her hand. "Do you think time is still moving?"

Evie shook her head. "I've no idea. I hope it's not but I'm not sure how that's possible. I'm not really sure how it works at all."

Lily bit her lip. "That's the hard bit, isn't it? Not knowing."

Evie nodded, her eyes smarting with tears again. "What if they're all out there, waiting for me? They've no idea why I disappeared, or how."

"Can't your Da explain it?"

Evie gave a watery chuckle. "I doubt it. Even if he could, and that's unlikely, he wouldn't. They're not allowed to talk about it."

"But if you're missing and there's an explanation…"

"No. Dad wouldn't do it. He's never broken that promise."

Lily studied her friend carefully. "He's the reason you can keep it all secret, isn't he?"

"I've watched him keep secrets my whole life. There were days, when I was little, when he came home looking like death and he couldn't say why. The things he's seen… I can't even begin to imagine."

Lily had thought of something else. "Are your parents alive now?"

Evie smiled wryly. "Yes. They'll enter Hogwarts next year."

"Mad."

Evie laughed. "It's odd. One more year and I would be living with them."

"They were Gryffindor?"

"Mum was. Dad was in Ravenclaw."

Lily nodded, out of questions for the moment. The two girls stared into the fire, each lost in their own thoughts. There were so many things Lily wanted to ask but couldn't and so many things Evie wanted to tell her but wouldn't.

"You have a whole life out there waiting for you." Lily was still fascinated and slightly disturbed by the whole idea. She couldn't imagine being torn between two worlds. "Your family, your friends, a whole future…" A question came to her then, one she had to risk asking. "Is it better? The time you lived in?"

Evie looked at her. "It's safer. There's not as much fear."

"The war's over."

Evie hesitated. "Lily… you should know, it will get worse before it gets better."

Lily bit her lip. "I know you shouldn't be telling me this, but if we speak in general?"

Evie nodded. She wasn't sure how much or how little she should be saying. She knew the line was thin but looking at Lily's face it was hard to keep quiet. "I know Dumbledore's worried. And my dad always said time worked in funny ways but…" She broke off with a sigh. "In some ways, knowing the things I do about what happens is worse than anything."

"Do you know specific things about us?" Lily asked timidly. "Not just Dumbledore and the professors, but _us_, James and Sirius and Remus and…" She trailed off at the look on Evie's face. It was slightly thrilling, knowing that someone forty years in the future would know who she was, who her friends were.

Evie shook her head. "I won't say specifics other than yes. And Lily-" She smiled slightly. "What I do know makes me proud to be your friend."

Lily grinned at that. "Well it's good to know I'm well liked in the future!"

"Very much so."

"So it gets worse before better?" Lily had seen the sorrow in Evie's eyes and wanted to stay away from whatever occurrence in their future had caused it.

"Yes. Much. The fear is the worst part. Or at least that's what they always told us. People stop trusting each other."

Lily nodded. That made sense. It was already happening, even within the walls of Hogwarts.

"More people will die too."

"But someone defeats _him_ right? If it's better in your time, someone has to defeat him."

Evie hesitated, then nodded. "Yes." How much more could she say? How could she tell her best friend that she would have to die first, would have to sacrifice herself, so that her son could defeat Voldemort? How could she tell her that it would take twenty years for the world to finally be rid of him? This was the difficult part: seeing the heartache in all of her new friends' future and being unable to share her own knowledge, knowledge that could change it all.

"It won't be easy, will it? Getting rid of him?"

"No. But it is possible. I swear that to you."

Lily nodded. "Thank you. For telling me. That bit…" She took a deep breath. "I needed to know that."

Evie reached over and patter her friend on the shoulder. "I know."

Lily let out a long rattling breath. "You must be terrified."

"You've no idea. You're all used to it – you're prepared to duel and fight off dark arts. Me, I can barely cast a Shield Charm, let alone duel with someone."

"Well you have Remus and me to help you at least. And I'm sure James and Sirius would…"

"Not Sirius," Evie cut her off sharply.

Lily shrugged. "I know it's uncomfortable but he's a better dueler than the rest of us."

Evie shook her head vehemently. "Not Sirius."

"This is your safety we're talking about."

"I doubt I'd improve anyway. Dueling, and fighting in general is never going to be one of my strong suits. It goes against my nature."

"Because of your healing power."

"James?"

"Yeah, he told me about it the other day. He and all the other boys are still in a state of awe over it."

Evie sighed. "I don't like calling too much attention to it. It's wonderful to be able to help people but I don't want to rely on it."

"That's why you're still training with Madame Pomfrey?"

"I don't want it to be a crutch. It could just disappear someday."

"Well in any case you need to learn to protect yourself. I'll talk to Remus about it." Lily was firm on this matter: she would not have Evie running off into danger unprepared.

"Fine," Evie sighed. "What else should we talk about?"

Lily mulled it over for a moment. "I think we covered most of what we _can_ talk about. Except one thing. Or person really." She waited for Evie's reaction anxiously.

"Sirius."

Lily nodded.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow? That's something I'd rather put off." Evie groaned.

Lily laughed. "We'll have to discuss it soon though."

"You're becoming like a therapist or something," Evie huffed. "Pushing me to talk about uncomfortable subjects."

"Sorry," Lily replied with a grin. "But isn't that what friends are for?"

Evie grinned. "I guess so. And on that note…" She raised her eyebrows evilly. "How're things with James?"


End file.
